The Sharpest Lives
by Patchwork Snowflake
Summary: Weak. She hated that word. But with the help of a new family, she will shed her weakness, the weakness that she loathed so much. Reborn into the Uchiha clan, Sakura Haruno sets off to rewrite the future...discovering along the way that hope might just be too silly of a notion. Not your usual time travel fic. T for gore, eventually a little bit of SakuNeji. NO INCEST
1. Prologue: Oblivion REVISED

**08/05/2012**

**Dear Kami, I couldn't sleep last night because I was suddenly struck with this idea! It was so annoying because I was really tired and ended up falling asleep at like 2:30 in the morning. So not cool. And today I spent like two hours on the train writing this out painfully on my tiny iPod touch. I am _never_ using notepad again. My hands are still sore, and the fact that I've been typing the whole day doesn't help.**

**Okay, enough of my rant. Read and review, children!**

**Updated/Revised on 02/17/2013**

**BLEHHHHHHH**

**I decided that chapter one was long overdue for a rewrite, so I ignored my homework for two hours and voila! The results.**

**Why, you ask (I'm probably turning senile but who cares)? The previous version of the Watcher was…lame. And it didn't fit the style that I intended for this story to follow. Sorry for any confusion inflicted upon my readers…I gotta thank all of y'all for the love and support you've given me. Enjoy. As always, read and review.**

* * *

_Oblivion._ She hadn't known what the word truly meant until the moment her ex-knight in shining armor plunged his katana into her heart.

One moment all those worries and doubts and all the subtly macabre things that haunted and ruled her world were there. In the next, the dirty battlefield disappeared from her view; replaced by that infinity of white, of oblivion around her, easing her panicking soul. She seemed to be suspended in the strange substance, while her mind was put into an almost meditative state.

_Oblivion,_she thought vaguely. It was the only thing that she came up with for this alien feeling. A voice that sounded suspiciously smooth and silky, almost innocently seductive whispered in her ear, like a soft breeze in the summer._Yes, oblivion…come, dear, rest your feet here, there's plenty of time…don't ever leave…_She felt herself slipping away, into the soothing voice…

A series of lucid images filtered through her mind, brushing against her sense of responsibility. Something felt wrong. Maybe it was the hollow cavern in her chest where her heart was supposed to be. Then, it hit her- she couldn't die yet. There was still something she needed to do. _No, no, no!_She couldn't die right here, right now, not when she was so close!

Her thoughts were clearer now, her sense of duty rekindled. _I can't die yet,_she yelled at the voice in the whiteness. Not when she was only an arm's length away to avenging _her_. She screamed with a renewed vigor, not from the burning agony in her chest, but for the best friend she'd once had who had died from the same hands wielding the offending blade that protruded from her back. She forcefully pushed the white expanse away, resurfacing into reality, fueled by that long platinum blond ponytail and those icy chips for eyes.

Then, she was there again, in that familiar vast yet empty field that had once been her home, her village. Her attacker still standing a few inches away, staring at her with those nightmare-inspiring red eyes. This was where she was going to die.

She'd barely had the time to make those observations before Oblivion* called out to her once more, hushing her senses and telling her to shut the hell up, to enjoy her deserved peace and abandon the living hell that she knew as her life. It reasoned that here, at cloud nine, there were no madmen trying to conquer the world or her spirit. There weren't any achingly familiar dead bodies littered on the bloody battlefront either. She felt herself agreeing with that, until her other persona decided to interfere.

_**Don't forget Ino-pig**_, Inner's boisterous tone was somber for once. **He**_**killed her.**_

That was all the motivation she needed to wiggle loose from Oblivion's grasp. She couldn't succumb to death before she slits his throat; before her skin was stained with so much of his blood that they were the same shade of red as his eyes. She screeched a makeshift war cry, and wormed her way back to be material world.

The monster in front of her was apparently not happy with her admirable clutch on life, however. A second blade was drawn out of its sheath, the hollow ring eerie to her ears. Without hesitation, it was inserted painfully slow into her upper chest, joining its bloody twin in her right atrium.

For a split second, as the cold metal pierced through layers of cardiac muscles, everything was crystal clear to her. The man standing in front of her was no longer the tragically beautiful prince that had ruled her past, taking up her time and rendering her useless for most of her early years. He was nothing but pure, unadulterated chaos now. He was too far gone for her suffering to sway him anymore.

The woman screamed again, and the man- no, _beast_in front of her cackled. This time though, someone else joined her, adding to the fray of the chorus their voices created. She vaguely recognized the new voice in the back of her mind…spiky blond hair and blue, almost cyan eyes…

The cackles died out, and the man once again plunged the blades deeper into her chest, causing the woman to convulse violently. Three more inches of metal peeked out from her back. Dear God, how did she ever love this beast? Ten years ago, he was the world to her. Thinking back now, she was revolted by her emotions for him.

As if following her thoughts, her murderer grinned at her, showing those pearly teeth. His face was dirty from war; sweat and blood marring his natural beauty. A couple of images- no, they were memories- played before her eyes, stirred by the sight of what was left of what was once one of the driving forces of her life. One stood out to her- the night that he'd finally abandoned his teammates, opting instead to sell his body to a certain S-class criminal in order to accumulate the power for revenge.

She felt conflicted. As much as she hated to admit it, he was still handsome to her, even with the madness clouding his crimson irises. _**Evil hot guys are still hot,**_Inner quipped. It sickened and excited her to think that the last moment they'd be spending together was being bathed in each other's blood. Feelings like that just don't change, do they? Well, they were going to now.

The woman let herself return that malicious grin he fixated on her. There was no possible way that her arm can move fast enough to cut his windpipe now, but she felt immensely satisfied by the glimmer of doubt and disbelief he'd suddenly projected, obviously not understanding her sudden shift in demeanor. She laughed, spittle flying into that beautiful, stunned face. It soon turned into a weak cough, globs of blood heaving out of her mouth and landing on the packed earth below. Her conscious was fading fast, her soul being dragged into that damned oblivion as her brain began to shut down from the lack of blood and oxygen.

She was fading.

The world was still for a second, as if stunned into a reverie, stopping to revolve around her pain. Until someone had finally joined her struggle.

The bloody flowers blooming endlessly from her wound, staining her green flak-jacket, seemed funny- like her rugged blond savior's tears and his frantic screams- who was he, anyways? She had a feeling that he was important, but then again, it could've just been the torn but still fancy white robes he was wearing, adorned with the kanji for _Rokudaime Hokage_on the back. Hm, that was definitely it. Why is he fighting that evil pretty man? And how did she end up cradled in that strong arm, the katanas removed but the blood still pouring out of all her orifices? Didn't he know it was useless to save her now?

No matter, she was tired right now. It was time to sleep, and Inner blatantly agreed. Funny, they were actually agreeing on her death day out of all days. She closed her eyes, the sounds of the two roaring men and clashing metal dying as she snuggled into the warmth of her Hokage.

Oblivion welcomed her with open doors, and this time, she had nothing that tied her to the real world anymore.

Ah, sweet oblivion, why was she denied of it for so long? This was what she had wanted, her delicious escape. Maybe this was the choice she should've picked after they've killed her first precious person, instead of following those thrice be damned shinobi rules and seeking vengeance instead. Ha, she even sounded like one of those damn bastards…what was his name again? Something with an S, like hers.

She relaxed, letting the calming color envelope over her. It was like one of those hot springs in the Land of Hot Water; you just wanted to stay in there forever. Oh, yes. Being dead was fun. Some years ago, her blond mentor had told her that at certain times in your life, death was a better prospect than life. Tsunade-shishou was right this time, it seemed.

Unbeknownst to the last Uchiha and the last Uzumaki, Haruno Sakura spent the last of her strength on a wan smile as she was drawn into eternal sleep. _**Farewell, Sasuke, Naruto. Cha!**_Inner's final exclaimation trailed away as her senses fled her.

* * *

**Warning: Heavy Dialogue ahead.**

* * *

"Your story does not end here."

At the sound of that male voice, so deeply intimidating and authoritative, Sakura jolted into consciousness. Her breathing filtered in and out of her spent lungs as struggled to open her eyes.

Her eyelids peeled away slowly, as if they were glued to her eyeballs. It was bright outside, where ever the hell she was. She must have been sleeping for quite awhile…

Suddenly, the flaps of skin rolled back, and blinding white light attacked her pupils. She quickly screwed them shut again, and an earth-shattering headache followed.

"Shit!" The pink-haired woman hissed in pain and clutched at her head, feeling drops of sweat trickling down her scalp, leaving a cold trail of gooseflesh on her neck. God, this was worse than a Tsunade-level hangover.

And then she recalled that she was supposed to be _dead_.

The last thing she remembered was finally kissing the world good bye, finally getting her eternal peace, finally leaving behind her dysfunctional teammates, finally letting go of her destroyed home…

It seemed like only a few seconds ago, but at the same time, it felt like an eon had already passed.

Something inside of her twinged, and her confusion resurfaced again. The last time she checked, death did not involve any conscious or twinges or anything of that sort. While her skull still trying to crack itself open, Sakura's mind spun as it tried to come up with a logical explanation.

Did her body, conditioned with years of raw survival skills and medical instincts, somehow managed to miraculously cure itself? Or maybe Sasuke died, and Naruto somehow succeeded in saving her. But that was impossible, considering the Hokage was an idiot at medical jutsu and he was pretty evenly matched with his nemesis. Or did they both succumb to a deadly double attack, and the owner of the powerful voice had found her and managed to revive her?

Yet none of her conjectures made any sense. There were no survivors within a 100 miles radius of the battlefield that had once been Konoha. The voice was probably Inner. No one could've rescued her besides Naruto and Sasuke. The former only knew basic first aid, and the second was a dick. Even if she was somehow revived, she should be in a comatose state.

So that left her with one possibility.

_Could it be…?_

While she tried to soothe her headache, she ran a quick check through her body systems. Nothing was wrong. Her heart was intact and beating, and none of her entrails were located outside of her body…In fact, she felt…_fine._

"That is because you are dead."

"Shut up, you good for nothing mental defect." Sakura murmured back, rubbing her forehead.

Without warning, she felt an absolutely devastating amount of chakra surging forth, pressing down on her.

Sakura screamed as the pain from her headache shot off the charts, magnified by the impossible amount of killing intent in the air. This…this _chakra signature_, if could even be called that, made Madara's look like a wet kitten's, and made the Ten Tail's seem like a joke. It was suffocating, and she felt her blood dance and bubble in her veins, her chakra trying to escape her body, her mind gnawing away at itself. _Holy Kami!_ She curled into herself, trying to shield her mind from the destructive chakra.

And as quickly it came, it disappeared.

"Never address me like that." There was a venomous edge to the monotone as the cold order was delivered.

There it was again, the voice. So it meant that it was real…and this same person possessed the most powerful chakra she'd ever encountered.

It made her feel oddly weak and useless.

"Child, I only will say this once. _Look. At. me."_

Sakura flinched. Hesitantly, she opened her eyes, afraid of what she'll see.

And once she adjusted to the light, she felt her stomach flip.

Below her was Konoha.

The full sun was shining above her, illuminating the beautifully wooded landscape beneath her. Gone was the barren field that was bulldozed flat by the Fourth Shinobi War. It was full of life, bustling, each and every shop where it should be, and the Hokage monument was still intact, with the five faces still adorning its surface—Naruto, the Sixth, was named Rokudaime Hokage on the battlefield the minute her old mentor was declared dead.

This was pre-War Konoha.

And she was floating thousands of meters above it all, suspended in mid air. It was as if there was an invisible layer of glass between her and the village she cherished so much.

Alarmed, Sakura scrambled up, expecting to fall down towards her death. Instead, she landed solidly in midair. "Impossible." She whispered, dragging her feet on the flat surface. "This has to be a genjutsu. Genjutsu."

"Foolish girl." The voice was much louder this time, nearly making Sakura jump. The stranger was close, perhaps a few feet behind her.

Sakura whirled around, making a grab for the kunais strapped to her knee. Her hand froze midway down her leg.

The man was dressed in a set of white robes that draped regally from his shoulder and arms. A large cloak that resembled the Forth Hokage's—with a tall collar and wide, short sleeves- was set over them, and the outfit was completed by a simple white staff that he held in his right hand. His hair was stark white and spiked, vaguely reminding her of Naruto, and two particularly long strands poked out from either side of his head, like horns.

But it was the white mask that he wore that captured her attention. Thin rings of black was painted on its surface, and three black Sharingan tomoes at the center. It was the Ten Tail's eye. A very familiar man had worn into battle almost eight years ago.

"Obito…" She growled, backing cautiously away from the tall man approaching her. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

The man laughed, spreading his hands out and leaning back as he did so. It was more like a cruel bark, a chilling sound that sent shivers through her body.

"Look at you, Haruno Sakura." He sneered. "You were one of the most widely revered kunoichi of your time—the Slug Sannin's Heir, friend of the Godaime Kazekage, one of the Members of the Legendary Team 7, and of course, the Rokudaime Hokage's Right Hand. And look at you now, reduced to a fidgety child that has forgotten all of her intuitions."

_I am not Obito._

Sakura flinched as the man's voice sounded in her head, but she felt anger bubbling up inside of her at his words. "You are wrong to think that I can no longer infer. I already knew you weren't Obito. You... have much larger chakra storages than him, and I'm sure that you have two Rinnegan eyes, not one." Her eyes widened at the realization. There were only two people in history with a complete set of Rinnegan…_No, it couldn't be._ "I…I admit I do not know who you are, but I am still a loyal kunoichi of the Leaf."

The man looked at her coldly, an icy aura vibrating off of him. "I did not question your loyalties, nor do I care." He paused, and then gestured to the village below them. "Tell me, child. Do you know where we are?"

Sakura's eyes darted down below her again, devouring the sight of the lively village beneath her. "This is where I belong. This is what I died for." She replied resolutely, meeting his level, eerie gaze. His entire cornea was lavender white, surrounded by black ripples that were customary of the Rinnegan. "But I'm not part of this world anymore. This, I believe, is a section of your mindscape."

The mysterious stranger nodded thoughtfully, crossing his arms in front of him. "You're wondering how and why I would bring a dead kunoichi to this place."

He didn't deny it, nor did he confirm it.

"Yes," Sakura closed her eyes, letting a breeze play with her hair. "After all, I've already finished my role in my lifetime. There is no need for me to do anything else. For anyone."

_I will not accept anything you offer me._

They were silent for awhile. Sakura listened almost nostalgically to the sounds of the bustling town below. It might just be a figment of the man's imagination, but it was good to be home again. Or at least feel like she was home.

After what seemed like an eternity, the man spoke again.

"What do you think of time travel, Sakura Haruno?"

Jade eyes rounded on him, and the girl in question observed him sharply. "And suffer the repercussions? No, thank you. I would like to go back to being dead."

"There won't be any repercussions."

_I am capable of it._

It was Sakura's turn to laugh. Naruto once said her laugh was like a tinkling bell, a sad, mourning bell. That was a five years ago.

"Oh, I'm certain that you are capable, stranger. But why send me back in time? I'm not important compared to my team mates, Kakashi-sensei, Sarutobi-sama, or anyone else that I knew, for the matter. Why not give them the chance? Surely they can change the past more than _I _can. Better yet, why would you offer me this chance in the first place? What could you possibly gain from sending a pathetic medic back in time?"

The stranger ignored that. "Why did you think I chose you?"

Sakura blinked, taken back by the question. She'd thought he chose her to play with her, to mess with her mind…But why would he, if he could use anyone else? He clearly wanted her to do something for him. In the world of shinobi, an offer that was too good to be true was _always_ false.

She'd discovered that rule too late.

The man's steely gaze was still boring into her. "You're the one who's underestimating yourself now. It takes a lot of mental capacity and spatial imagination for someone to enter the mindscape of a Rinnegan user. In fact, even the most skilled genjutsu masters, the people who know every aspect of the human mind, have a hard time entering a Sharingan user's head—which is a lot less complex than mine."

"Then how did I get here?"

The man scoffed. "Haven't you noticed? You've been missing her for a while now."

A scowl marred her face, and Sakura let out an impatient breath. "Look, if you're going to negotiate with me, you might as well just spit whatever the hell you need to say out."

It was completely quiet for awhile after her outburst, and Sakura felt proud for cursing at the man. Surely Inner would congratulate her for that? And she sounded so spunky, just like Inner—

Sakura did a double take.

Holy.

Shit.

It all makes sense now. You needed more than one mindset to enter a completely tangible landscape created by a mind, especially one that wasn't designed as a genjutsu. Inner was the perfect vessel to transfer her in, which explained why he chose her. She was possibly the only candidate that fit the two descriptions. Sakura was no fool—she understood that she was powerful, and her Inner personality only contributed to that.

"You…" her voice quivered as she spoke. "You took her…"

"And?" He challenged in return, drumming pale fingers on the staff. "Does it matter?"

"Of course it does, you bastard!" Sakura screeched, spittle flying from her mouth. "She was my best friend for years, after—after—after _he_ took Ino.." her voice faded away, replaced by a fresh wave of pain.

"Sacrifices are necessary, child. You know that better than anyone."

"I didn't ask for her to be sacrificed!" she cried out, pulling at her hair. How did she not notice? "Why me? Why can't you just let me save her?"

"No one can save her now!" The man snapped, his deep baritone accompanied by another spike of chakra and effectively causing her to quiet down. "She was only a fraction of your mind that I eliminated for the rest of your consciousness to enter. After all, I am dead too. And maybe I should tell you that being one of the last three survivors of Konohagakure's ninja population is not a desirable outcome. And neither is having your soul destroyed once you refuse my proposal."

Seeing the look on the kunoichi's face, the man continued. "This jutsu took a huge toll on your spiritual aspect and mind, child. If you accept and travel back in time, there is a huge possibility that you can correct mistakes and save everyone. But of you don't, this will be the last time you'll be conscious again. The seal I used to transport you here is chewing away at your soul, _child._ You're a ticking time bomb."

"Funny, because I can't feel my soul being bitten." Sakura spat.

The man elegantly ignored her comment again. "You have at most two more minutes left." Sakura felt her stomach lurch. "It's either an opportunity to revise everything in your past and aiding me in the process—or going back to Oblivion forever."

"I…you…I still can't trust you." Sakura said weakly, feeling ten years of experience as a diplomat under Tsunade melting away.

"Think about it, Sakura. I'm offering you to go back twenty-four years, to the day you were born. You'll keep your past skills and knowledge and memories…I'll slowly give those back to you over the course of the first six years of your new life. Of course, the new timeline would be completely different, but think about all the possibilities, all the people you can save…"

"I'm not interested in that anymore." She retorted softly.

"And you can prove yourself to be a better ninja this time."

Sakura bit her lip, fighting the urge to shout at the man. Sure, she was pretty much useless until she'd become Tsunade's apprentice. And yes, her pitiful adoration of that Uchiha monster had held her back on her potential. But she was powerful in her own right, in her own name. Sakura Haruno had become a title of reverence in her later life.

Scenes of the battlefield flashed before her eyes. _Blood. Death. Marks of betrayal. Hatred, deep, red-eyed hatred._

The white-robed fiend had caught onto Sakura's wavering willpower.

"Ten seconds left, child."

"It's not that simple, is it?" she murmured to herself.

"Nine."

"And I don't even know how it's going to be like." She added, her vision blurring.

"Eight."

"I'm becoming senile." She whispered, feeling her mind slip away.

"Seven."

"I hate you, Lady Fate. Neji had the right idea."

"Six."

Sakura looked up at the sky. It was a bright cerulean, the color of Naruto's eyes when he was happy.

"Five."

She'd do anything to see that shade of blue in his eyes again, reflecting her own apple-jade orbs as he laughed.

"Four."

And maybe she'll save Sasuke, too.

"Three."

They'll be Team Seven again.

"Two."

"I…"

"One."

"I accept."

* * *

Shit. Didn't even read over that. Please point out any mistakes.

I hope that wasn't too lame… -_- I've got a huge plot planned for Sakura ahead, so expect this story to get better later on.

*Yes, I know- it's uppercase.

**ItachiSasu reference here :) NOT AS IN THE INCEST THING.


	2. Familiarity REVISED

**REVISED on 02/18/2013:**

**Really, it doesn't matter if you read the new sections I added to this chapter. If you're a returning reader, then I recommend you to reread the first chapter…the second part was VITAL to the plotline/development of the story.**

**Thanks. 3**

**(Over six months ago)**

**Hey guys! I'm glad you liked the story so much…it gives me inspiration. ^_^ Now, for some good fatherly love.**

**If you see any mistakes, point them out for me.**

* * *

"I accept."

As soon as the two simple words rolled off her tongue, everything around her began to spin, the sky spiraling into the fabricated village below. The sound of metal grinding on metal followed, joining the chaotic swirl of colors as it all faded to a black void, forming a whirling vortex of darkness above them.

Only the man standing in front of her remained, swathed by a film of malevolent crimson chakra as Rinnegan eyes glowed.

A funny feeling began to climb up her left arm, and green eyes darted towards the limb. Her body was slowly beginning to dissolve into tiny pieces, being carried by a strong wind towards the black hole above them.

"You never told me who you are!" Sakura called to him over the howling wind, squinting as it became harder to see. "And what am I supposed to do for you? Don't you want anything in return for what you are about to give me?"

"You made the right choice," was all the man said as she faded away.

* * *

Fugaku paced, striding back and forth in the tiny hall outside the room reserved for laboring mothers in the Uchiha compound's medical building. His hands were clasped together behind his back. A mixture of excitement, anticipation, irritation, and hope coursed through him, accompanied by the adrenaline, keeping him awake and alert even though it was three in the morning. He and millions of other husbands have been in this situation before, and he was proud to say that this was even scarier than going on an S-ranked mission. Sweat was dripping down his face as he listened to the screams of his wife and her short breaths, mixed in with the low murmurs of several other Uchiha women and the head midwife behind the doors. Stopping in the middle of the dark hallway, he turned towards the soft yellow light emanating from the closed doors, subconsciously activating his sharingan to better decipher the movements behind the rice-paper screens.

Another ear-splitting screech sounded, followed by loud encouragements from the women inside. Fugaku, being the good Uchiha patriarch he was, cringed. He brought a hand up to wipe his sweaty brow. Kami, these are the last children he'll ever have. If he had to go through this amount of psychological pain again, he'll probably snap and eat Itachi alive or something.

Speaking of his eldest, the boy looked as if he'd burst from nervousness as he sat on the bench that was provided for family members. Fugaku had long abandoned it after the first hour. With his enhanced vision, he could see the six year old chewing nervously on his lip. How unbecoming of an Uchiha heir. He'll have to correct that habit of his. Fugaku added a mental note to speak to him about that later. For now, he settled for walking over and resting a reassuring hand on his son's quivering shoulder. Itachi looked up, his wide eyes expressing silent thanks. Fugaku couldn't help it- he smiled at his son's cuteness. Child prodigy or not, this was still his flesh and blood.

Something white moved in his peripheral vision, and Fugaku instinctively fixed his eyes on the alien movement. He found himself staring at the Fourth Hokage, who had arrived with his wife around an hour after midnight.

He was still clad in plaid shorts and a white shirt.

Mikoto had requested for Kushina to come the moment her water broke, and the woman arrived mere minutes later with her husband, both still in their nightwear. When Fugaku had apologized to them for waking them up at the ungodly hour, Kushina had responded hotly by saying that this was good experience for her, and good friends don't give birth on a daily basis. Fugaku couldn't argue with that.

That was how they'd ended up with a mini-parade in the medical building.

Next to Itachi, his blond friend looked to be in a slightly traumatized state- probably fearing for the birth of his own son in a few months. A pair of flitting blue eyes turned to him, and Fugaku nodded at the man, silently supporting him. Well, this is good preparation for him, too. Sighing, Fugaku left his son's side and resumed his pacing.

Just as he finished the 419th round, the loudest scream yet sounded, making all three males present shudder. A voice distinctively Kushina cheered inside. Then, the miraculous sound that he'd been waiting to hear for so long sounded- the beautiful cry of a newborn- no, two cries! Fugaku almost melted with relief- the terrible chorus of crying was like music to his ears.

A few moments later the door slid open, revealing a panting midwife. She was holding a wailing bundle of blankets in both arms. The rings under her eyes and the strands of jet-black hair plastered with sweat to her face reflected a long struggle, but there was triumph in her voice as she spoke. "Hokage-sama, Itachi-san, Fugaku-sama" she quickly acknowledged the two other males before she finally addressed him. "Congratulations! They're twins, like we've expected- a healthy baby girl and a healthy baby boy."

Fugaku wasted no time in bounding over to her, followed closely by Itachi and Minato. The jounin felt ready to cry tears of joy as he snatched a bundle from the midwife's right arm and proceeded to examine the baby in his arms.

"That's the girl, Fugaku-sama," the midwife informed him. Fugaku barely heard her comment as he tried to take in every detail of the newborn. She was still wet from what looked like a quick bath via a Suiton jutsu, and her fair skin, tinged with pink, was soft and warm. She had a heart-shaped face that resembled Mikoto's, and he proudly noticed that her mouth was the same shape as his, if not fuller and pinkerShe was going to be a great beauty when she's older.

The blanket concealing the infant's head fell back a little, brining his attention to her short hair. He couldn't help but to notice that it was a warmer shade of black than his own- verging on dark red at the roots. He frowned slightly at that. Most members of the Uchiha clan had the classic shade of black, some darker and others lighter. No one has ever heard of a _redheaded_Uchiha.

Adding to that, her forehead also seemed a little large, the perfect attraction for childhood bullies. Well, no one is perfect.

He let himself rock the crying child as he reveled in the chakra that had just begun to circulate in the newborn, before turning to the midwife again. "Who is elder one?" Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Itachi tentatively holding on to his new brother, with Minato leaning over his shoulder and looking curiously at the child. Itachi himself was a blessing to the Uchiha clan- a male firstborn, not to mention a child prodigy with immense talent. Though he loved all his children equally on the inside, he'd be slightly disappointed if the baby boy was younger.

"The boy, Fugaku-sama, by twelve seconds." the woman answered with a bow, causing daffodils and lilies to bloom inside him. _As is expected of the Uchiha clan._ "And, Mikoto-sama requires your presence. She would like to express her wish to name the children."

Fugaku blinked. He had been so excited that he'd forgotten about the most important thing. "Thank you," he said curtly to the woman, pushing past her and entering the room while wrapping his arm around Itachi to bring in him as well.

It had been six years since he'd last been in this room, on the day Itachi was born. It hadn't changed much since then. The floor was still covered in plain bamboo planks, with numerous cabinets lining the walls stocked with everything a midwife would ever need for a live birth. Candles were placed conveniently around the large wooden bed his wife was lying in, giving off the calming scent of lavender along with the soft yellow light that he saw earlier. Some Uchiha women standing by his wife bowed as he came in, muttering tired greetings of "Fugaku-sama,".

Kushina clapped him on the back, congratulated him for becoming a father once again, and hugged Itachi before letting them move on to the bed.

His wife gave him a weak smile when she saw him, raising her head slightly from the navy blue sheets at the protests of several of her temporary nurses. She ignored their pesterings and propped herself up against the pillow, folding her hands on top of her flat stomach.

"Fugaku, Itachi" she called softly, successfully gaining the attention of both of her relatives. "Bring them to me."

They obeyed, and Mikoto took both of her children from their outstretched arms. Gingerly, she shifted herself so that she was holding one of them in each arm. Everyone stood in silence as the mother gazed at her children, her eyes so fierce with love that people couldn't help but to compare her to a tigress. It was a sacred moment; a moment that no one would dare destroy by interrupting.

Fugaku took the time to examine his new son. Itachi had hogged him earlier, while he was examining the girl. His skin was fair and soft just as his daughter's, and his face was adorned with a set of somewhat sharper features than his feminine counterpart. Ironically, he had more hair than his sister, and to Fugaku's everlasting relief, it was plain charcoal color, the same shade as his aniki's.

Suddenly, Mikoto whipped her head around and looked at him straight in the eye, breaking him out of his silent contemplation. Once she had his attention, she began.

"This," she said grandly, nodding to the sleeping boy in her left arm. "Will be Sasuke. We've agreed to this. Right, Fugaku?"

"Yes, after the Sandaime's father." Fugaku nodded, answering quickly. The names had been decided the moment they were informed that Mikoto was pregnant with twins.

"And…" Mikoto glanced down at her daughter, a bit of doubt clouding her delicate features. Fugaku frowned also, remembering that they'd automatically assumed they'd be having twin boys. _Sasuke and Hiruzen_,he recalled. After the Sandaime and his father. The couple fell into a deep silence, each trying to come up with a good name for their child without offending anyone in the room.

Their unnamed female child chose that moment to open her eyes, the action inducing several gasps from people around the room.

Fugaku himself suppressed a swallow at the sight of those unmatched eyes staring at him. Her right eye was the normal deep onyx color present in all children of the Uchiha clan- so why was her left that vibrant shade of green they'd chosen to be? And, for some odd reason, they lacked the innocently unknowing look most newborns had. The mismatched orbs stared at him with a mild and somber intelligence.

He fought a shudder and dismissed the color as a variant of the pale, colorless blue many infant had during their early months. If only he knew how foolish he was.

Instead, he contemplated that maybe his daughter would become a prodigy, just like his eldest son. His hands tingled from the mere thought of her third birthday, where the traditional Uchiha training began. Oh, he just had a feeling that she'll be a natural at Katon jutsus…

"I suggest Hitomi*," Itachi said, glancing at his mother for approval. "Imouto has really interesting eyes."

Mikoto nodded slowly at him. "They are very beautiful."

"How about Sakura, after the third's mother?" quipped one of the women on the side. "Then the twins will have matching names."

She was immediately fired down by a raging Mikoto. "No, as that will suggest very _controversial_ideas."

Fugaku winced. What was Mikoto thinking, voicing out something like that? He'll have to reprimand her later.

"I agree with Mikoto and Itachi; Hitomi is quiet a fitting name." he said, using his years of diplomatic experience as the head of the Uchiha clan to aid his opinion and stir the subject away from the Third's mother. The baby fixed her eyes on him, the black and green orbs verging on being amused. Was that a _smirk_ on her face?

"The clan head has spoken, my fellow Uchihas." The midwife cleared her throat, commencing the traditional ceremony words. "Let us welcome Sasuke and Hitomi Uchiha as the newest members of the ever prosperous Uchiha clan."

"And may the blessing of a thousand generations of success be on them," murmured everyone, aside from the Namikaze couple, in unison.

Some good nights and words of congratulations later, most of the people present during the birth had filed out of the room. A minute later, only the Uchiha main family and the couple remained.

Kushina immediately bounded over to her bedridden friend, scooping her up into a soft hug as to not injure the children in her arms. "You have beautiful kids, Mikoto-chan, dattebane!" the redhead squealed in delight, softly pinching both of the children on their cheeks. Sasuke gurgled and Hitomi giggled, and Kushina kissed her on the nose.

Mikoto laughed. "Thank you, Kushina dear. You really didn't have to come, considering that you're seven months pregnant and your child is an A-rank secret."

Kushina released the woman and scowled slightly, stepping away a little. "_Naruto_has a name, dattebane!" she crossed her arms over her swollen belly, and her husband chuckled.

"I'm sure Mikoto-chan was just worried about your safety," he said, slinging an arm across his wife's shoulders. "We should be heading back now."

Kushina sighed, dropping her childish façade. "Yeah, yeah. Minato-kun is right. Sorry for disturbing you, Mikoto-chan, Fugaku-san, Itachi-kun. We'll be leaving now. I'll just stay home for another three months with nothing to do aside from counting how many strands of hair I have, dattebane."

Mikoto giggled. "Oh, you can visit the compound any time you want, Kushina. Just remember to henge yourself on your way here."

The redhead immediately perked up, and she beamed at her friend. "Yosh! Arigato gozaimasu, Mikoto-chan!"

Her husband laughed again. "Now, now, let's go. You still need your beauty sleep, Kushina." The Fourth said softly, putting both of hands on his wife's arms. "Thank you, Fugaku-san, Mikoto-san. We shall bade you a farewell and good night now, and congratulations on Hitomi-chan and Sasuke-san." he bowed a little, which looked slightly off as he was still in his sleepwear.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Fugaku returned the bow, waving the couple out as Minato hooked his arm underneath his wife's knees and carried her out of the window, bridal style. A jump later and the Fourth was heading away with his legendary speed.

"The baby shower is ten days later, right?" Kushina hollered as her husband leapt lithely from roof to roof, cupping her hands around her mouth and leaning over the blonde's shoulder.

"Of course, dear!" Mikoto shouted back, to the delight of the soon-to-be mother.

"Yosh! I have the cutest little outfits for them and then there's all the ribbons and lace for Hitomi-cha…" her voice faded away as her husband decided to use his infamous Flying Thunder God technique, not wanting to wake anymore annoyed Uchihas up.

Fugaku shook his head. He sometimes wondered how those two ended up together. Kushina was the complete opposite of her husband, to say the least. Though somehow, they seemed like…the natural choice for each other.

A soft, almost inaudible snore interrupted his thoughts, and he realized that Itachi had already fallen asleep, curled up at the foot of the bed. A look of complete peace had fallen over his son's delicate, almost feminine features; a harsh contrast to the usual serious and sometimes melancholy look the six year old wore. Fugaku sighed, walked over to his oldest child, and picked him up gently. It was probably the last time he would be able to do this, as Itachi was to become a genin soon. He had already graduated from the first and second year academy class a few months ago with top scores, and he was speeding through the third year like none other than _the_ Hatake Kakashi. The Academy Instructors had informed him that if Itachi kept this up, he'll be graduating the Academy by the time he turns seven.

He was immensely proud of his son's accomplishments, of course, but it was hard to believe that such a small child was already capable of assassinations, espionage, several Katon techniques and beating the crap out of most genins due to his impressive skill. Clutching his son tighter, he adjusted his arm so that it was cushioning his son's head. Afterwards, he turned to his wife, who was gazing at him cunningly.

"I'll bring him to the main house," he addressed Mikoto, ignoring the knowing look that flashed through his wife's eyes. She had begun breastfeeding the children. "I'll come back for you and the twins later." he allowed himself to sound casual for once before walking slowly out of the room.

Mikoto simply nodded at him before returning to gaze at her suckling children, Hitomi in particular.

* * *

Itachi rose by the time the first hints of crimson stained the sky, a telltale sign of the breaking dawn. He was accustomed to waking up at this hour. _A true shinobi rises before the Sun._

Therefore, his internal clock had roused him when the tiny alarm situated on his bedside table ticked to 4:34 a.m. In a few moments, the six year old was wide awake, having been trained to fall into a deep sleep or go through the transactions between grogginess and fully alert in the matter of seconds. Head clear, Itachi gently pushed the thin black sheets off of him, recalling how that he had fallen asleep somewhere else. He stopped, a frown marring his face as he paused to dangle his legs over the side of his bed. He wondered how he got back into his room as he finally decided to slide off his bed, walking over to open the black curtains concealing the sunrise. He took a deep breath of the morning air and pressed his nose onto the cold glass, letting the tingling feeling tickle the tip of his nose before glancing outside. The sky was an exotic jade color.

_Jade…color?_ He stopped. His subconscious, having been trained to automatically retrieve things by linking them with sensory objects, showed him an infant's eye that was the same color as the jade green he was observing.

"Sasuke, Hitomi!"he exclaimed. His siblings!

Brushing his teeth and throwing on his clothes and weapons pouches, he walked over to the door, leaving his unmade bed to the servants. Sliding it open, he gingerly stepped outside, his bare feet gliding across the cold wooden boards as they led him to his mother's room. The twins will most likely be there, and if they weren't, he could ask her about their whereabouts.

As the plans formed in his head, Itachi replied with a polite nod to all the greetings he received from his fellow clansmen passing through, their footsteps all equally silent. The main family's compound was connected to many of the other buildings in a maze of twists and turns. It was normal to see plenty of morning traffic. Like Itachi, most of the clan had an early schedule.

His room wasn't too far from Mikoto's private chambers, and he reached it after a brief stroll down the enormous main hallway and a few turns.

He knocked softly, knowing that his mother would be awake by now despite her obvious ordeal yesterday. Mikoto was a morning person as well- she sometimes rose even earlier than him to cook their breakfasts in the morning, and to begin the chores that were assigned to her as the Matriarch of the Uchiha clan and the Mother of three children.

"Yes?" a soft reply came. "Is it you, Itachi?"

Itachi felt that same fuzzy feeling course through him like the ones he got yesterday from holding his brother. His mother understood him best out of everyone in the family- therefore, she knew when he'll wake up, and the first thing that he'd do. To her, he was still her child, but a child that was capable of intelligent thought, of his own feelings and philosophies. He felt relaxed around her, like he could speak his mind without being repressed or fussed over.

"Hai, Okaa-sama." he answered respectfully. "May I come in?"

A gentle laugh rang, tickling his ear. "Sure, Itachi. How many times do I have to tell you that Kaa-san is fine?"

Smiling slightly, the six year old entered the room, bowing to his mother. She was already up and bustling about. She smiled a greeting at him, drawing open the curtains and folding the sheets of the bed. He walked over to help her, and they finished the chore in an amiable silence.

Itachi sat on the bed after it was made, careful to distribute his weight evenly so that it won't be crinkled. He was staring at the crib holding his siblings, watching the tiny chests rise and fall. He was almost scared, too afraid that he'll accidentally damage them. They were so fragile, so _innocent _compared to him.

Sometimes Itachi was afraid of himself, afraid of his own mind, his own intelligence.

Recognizing the faraway look on her son's face, Mikoto decided it was time to leave. "They'll probably be sleeping for the rest of the day." She reminded him. "You can stay here as long as you want, but I'll call you for breakfast soon." Then she was gone, the lingering chakra signature the only telltale sign that she was here in the first place.

Itachi waited for a few minutes after she left, staring only at the breathing figures. Then, he got up and finally closed the space between him and the twins.

Slowly, he extended a hand to touch his sister's cheek, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His sight drifted away to examine the slightly large forehead, the heart-shaped face, and his hand moved to began stroking her soft hair.

"Hitomi," he whispered. "Hitomi," he repeated it, testing the word on his tongue. He'll have to get used to it now.

At the sound of her name, which the newborn seemed to have registered, she opened her eyes. Eyes, one onyx and the other apple green, stared at him, unspoken words hidden behind the depth that was too great for an infant's eye to hold.

_It's him_, Sakura thought vaguely. _I know him._

* * *

***It means beautiful eyes.**

**Like it? READ AND REVIEW! I'll update soon. ;)**


	3. Protection

**Before my readers get confused-**

**In the first chapter, the Watcher had said that Sakura will be getting her full memory back by the time she became six again in the…past? Future? Again, you decide which one it is. **

**Therefore, doing some basic fractions or your preferred form for calculating portions of things, she'll have all her past memories from up to age 12 by the time she turns three as Hitomi. And, each year she regains about 4 years worth of memories, since she was 24 when she died. For example, she'll have about 16 years worth of past-Sakura memories by the time she's 4, meaning medical experience, general skills of a chuunin (she was promoted when she was 14), tree walking , water walking, and all the stuff that she knew by the time she killed Sasori-Danna. So, it's perfectly normal for her to be pretty powerful…but she's not going to graduate from the academy when she's like, five or something. That's just unrealistic.**

**And, what I mean by getting her memory back is basically remembering things little by little, taken from different points of her life. **

**Maybe that just confused you. Maybe it helped. Maybe I shouldn't have put all that there at all.**

**If anything, REVIEW and ASK QUESTIONS. Even flames are appreciated, as long as they aren't just things like "omaigosh I hate ur story its lik so stupid n even i can writ beter just tak it down it sux". There are such things called spelling and grammar.**

**Oh, and tell me if the Kushina part of this chapter was unnecessary, because I have a feeling that it is… **

**Kthanksbai and hope that cleared some things up,**

**D.**

Kushina traversed through the streets of Konoha silently, making her way through the bustling morning crowds with a huge tote gripped in her now tanned arms. The smells of fresh produce, meat and numerous breakfast vendors wafted towards her, serving as a fresh reminder to why she loved the early hours so much. The entire atmosphere, filled with soft conversations and the shouts of bartering salesmen, was relaxed and amiable, a huge contrast to the war only a few years previous.

She smiled as she passed by one of her favorite vendors, stifling the sudden urge to stop by and order a large bowl miso ramen. Maybe two bowls, for the matter- with extra soup. Her meager meal consisting of a bowl of oatmeal and a handful of chocolates seemed very frugal now.

She paused on her walk and waved at the owner of the small ramen bar. Old man Ichiraku was devouring a steaming bowl of beef ramen, sitting on a stool placed at the front of his small shop, a towel draped over his shoulder. With her enhanced senses, she could smell the savory beef from meters away- a scent that was _heavenly_, and Kushina was momentarily distracted by her cravings until the man returned her wave. Despite his lack of knowledge that the middle-aged brunette woman leering at his breakfast was one of his frequent customers under the name of Uzumaki Kushina, he still set the bowl and chopsticks down on his knee and waved politely back at her as she stopped, standing a few feet away from him.

_Heh, that friendly old man always had kindness to share, even with strangers. _Kushina thought, continuing on her way after a final smile directed at the cook._ Or apparent strangers._ Kushina resisted the urge to frown. It wasn't fair that other women were allowed to parade around sporting a baby bump, fulfilling all their weird urges while she had to hide away in a hole for the entire ten months. And, from the sudden kicks of protests inside her belly, Naruto agreed with her.

Kushina stepped up her pace, heading faster towards the West side of the town that housed the clan district, much to the satisfaction of her muscles. She was allowed to visit Mikoto as long as she wore a henge. Her friend, as well as most of the members of the Uchiha Clan, had sworn to keep her pregnancy and relationship with Minato a secret.

She started to hum, predictions about who her son will look like and act like- her or Minato?- filling her head as she arrived at the Uchiha compound. The wall surrounding the massive estate was as intimidating as ever, and the crimson and white fan was still about inviting as an angry S-class missing nin.

A grin that threatened to split her face was put on, and in one swift motion, she masked her chakra, while pooling some to her feet, and jumped over the walls. She landed softy in the well-kept grass in the midst of a bamboo forest. She'll be damned if she couldn't even infiltrate a clan compound.

"State your identity and what business you might have with the Uchiha clan before I decapitate you." Fugaku was glaring at her, a kunai pointed a mere inch away from her throat.

Maybe she should have used the gate instead.

She chuckled, dropping her henge in the process as well as taking the mask off her chakra. "A little jumpy today, aren't we Fugaku?"

Fugaku instantly set away the kunai and bowed low to her, his long hair sweeping to the front of his face. "I am sorry, Kushina-san. If I had known that it was you, that indecent slip up of mannerism wouldn't have been committed."

Kushina somewhat pitied the man. He was a good person and all, but played by the politics to the point where everything was just another way to present his clan in the best light possible to him.

"If I didn't have all this extra weight, I would've tested my flexibility even more then you did, Fugaku-sama." She apologized after patting her rounded abdomen.

A look of embarrassment and understanding lingered on his face for a moment, and then it was gone, replaced by the solemnly stern face she'd seen so many times before on the man. "Ah, it's fine. However, the next time you decide to visit my family, it will be of our conveniences for you to come through the gate."

Kushina laughed lightly. "Yes, I'll remember that. I think it is I that should apologize for startling you so early in the day. Sorry, Fugaku."

Fugaku nodded, accepting her apology with the grace and experience of a jaded clan head. "Hai, Kushina-san. I take that you know where Mikoto-san is situated?"

Kushina nodded. Both of them knew that it was out of politeness as a host that Fugaku was asking this- she'd already been here a few times before to see her friend.

"Alright. I have things to attend to, so if you will excuse me, I shall be heading to my duties now."

"Yes, see you later, Fugaku-sama."

Fugaku nodded and brought his hand up to his chest in a half-formed seal. Kushina watched as his chakra went haywire and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

She turned to walk towards the main compound

"Good morning, Kushina-san." The boy addressed her, quickly folding his arms in front of him and straightening his posture for the bow that he executed.

Kushina walked forward and ruffled his hair slightly, which earned her a slightly miffed look from the boy.

"Well? I've got a few things that I'd like to give to the twins, Itachi-kun. Mind leading me to their room?"

A faint smile quirked at the boy's lips at the mention of his two younger siblings. It was obvious that he was already willing to protect both of the infants with his life if necessary. She smiled at the thought. Something told her that he'll continue to think that way for the rest of his life.

She followed the boy into the compound, both of them taking off their shoes and turning them away from the door (A/N; in Japan, it's traditional for everyone to do that aside from the owner of the house, usually the father of the family; its basic respect). Once they were inside the sparsely decorated but elegantly constructed hallway, Itachi led her through a series of twists and turns that led to Mikoto's room. Kushina took the time to let her mind wander a little, but she was still conscious of the fact that Itachi seemed to be taking a different path to avoid bumping into unsuspecting clan members. How thoughtful of the boy.

"We're here, Kushina-san." Itachi said, calling her attention to the purple rice paper screened door. On cue, he slid it open and stepped inside, followed by Kushina.

"Mikoto-chan!" Kushina exclaimed, and she couldn't help but to run up and give her friend a huge squeeze. The older woman was sitting at the foot of her bed, reading a small orange book. She responded to Kushina's act of affection just in time to neatly set the book aside and return the hug, all done in a natural motion under a second. _Once a jounin, always a jounin, _Kushina thought. Before she married, Uchiha Mikoto had been quiet a kunoichi herself, with an astounding amount of mission completions for a woman twenty three years of age.

"Hello, Kushina-san. This is the third time this week- are you sure you can handle this? The baby's due in two weeks, remember?" Mikoto commented, motioning for Kushina to sit down next to her. "Itachi, bring us some tea, please." Her son nodded and spared the crib holding his twin siblings a glance before bounding away to fulfill the order.

Kushina wasted no time in swinging the heavy tote bag up to the bed beside her, wincing when she felt the slight strain in her muscles..

"For you and the twins," Kushina said, winking when Mikoto gasped.

"Kushina-san! How many times do I have to say that there is no need for you to bring a gift each time you come over?" Mikoto chided good naturedly, shaking her head once more. Being the Uchiha Matriarch she was, however, she was inclined to bow to her friend, who only giggled at her antics.

"Ma, ma, Mikoto-sama, it's just a blunt shruiken set for Sasuke-kun and a stuffed bear for Hitomi-chan." Kushina smiled, enjoying the horrified look on her friend's face when she pulled out a bear that the same size as the woman, an imported silk kimono, and forty custom designed, unsharpened shruiken.

"Thank..you." Mikoto managed to say, a taut smile appearing on her face.

By the time she'd gathered up enough courage to reply, Kushina was already lifting Hitomi half out of her crib with her hands secured underneath the toddler's armpits. The little girl was awake, and Kushina couldn't help but to admire the budding beauty's captivating onyx and emerald eyes, which were staring at her with lazy intelligence. Oh, how she wish she could have her as a daughter-in-law in the future...

Suddenly, the child's entire demeanor shifted, and Kushina found herself staring at the image the appeared for a split second on the tiny face- a weathered kunoichi, with bubblegum pink locks held up by a leaf hitae-ate, apple green eyes, and the most startling expression she'd ever seen painted across the war torn features- a cross between deep regret and determination.

"Kushina-san," the woman said, her voice solemn, the weight of knowledge laden on her tongue. "The Kyuubi."

Kushina felt her blood churn into icy shards at the mention of the demon fox. _How could she possibly…_ That animalistic _thing_ inside her twisted with perverse satisfaction from the reaction garnered from the host, and her heart palpitated with adrenaline as memories of broken bodies of blood and fresh floated up from deep within her subconscious, fueled by the piercing jade gaze…

And suddenly the woman was gone, replaced by the little girl who'd look just as confused as she was.

Slowly, without setting the child down, Kushina turned over to Mikoto- but the woman was daintily folding her silk kimono and setting it into one of her drawers, oblivious to the little fiasco that had just happened. Kushina didn't know whether to sag in relief or to wallow in guilt. She had a feeling that Mikoto would definitely want to hear about her daughter's knowledge and the strange vision she represented; but that also meant giving away the fact that she was a jinchuuriki, something that even the Uchiha matriarch didn't know of.

"Mikoto-chan," Kushina called, gently setting the child back down to lie next to her twin. She bent low and gave each of them a last kiss on the cheek before straightening her posture and turning to face her friend.

"Yes, Kushina?" Mikoto intoned, a worried look shadowing her face as she noticed the pallid complexion overcoming her friend's features.

"I…I should be leaving."

Mikoto raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. This would be the first time Kushina would be ending her visit before dinner.

"Stay for tea, dear." Mikoto took it as one of the odd jokes Kushina loved to play on her. She returned to the ever wonderful task of folding clothes, taking her friend's silence as a good sign. Little did she know that it'll be the last thing she'll ever say to her friend.

Kushina, however, felt the need to get away from the suffocating gaze on her back emitting from the tiny child. Footsteps silent, she grabbed her tote and jumped lightly out the open window and started running, not caring that she was barefoot.

Sakura awoke to the sound of Sasuke crying.

"Shh, shhh…." Itachi murmured, his voice the only comforting thing as Sakura felt the killing intent clouding the entire air. She started to sniffle, and Itachi groaned. He doubt that the fox would hear them, and it probably wouldn't abandon its spot where it was currently pitting against the frontline of Konoha's forces to go after two children in the distant, but he really didn't want to risk it.

He began softly rocking both Hitomi and Sasuke, one bundle in each of his arms. A blanket was looped around both of them and slipped over his neck, securing the two as he sat under the safe haven of the wooden porch surrounding the main compound. He suddenly noticed the change in Hitomi's breathing, and looked down into unmatched eyes.

Itachi groaned.

"See? Now Hitomi's awake as well, thanks to your bawling. Silly otouto." Itachi reprimanded, flicking said child's nose, adding the last part with a slightly pained expression on his face.

Then, he fixed his attention on her. "Well, did you have a nice nap, Hitomi?"

_Hitomi…_

That was her name, wasn't it? It was the name that was given to her by Fugaku and Mikoto. Sakura, the one she kept referring to herself as, was from her other parents in those strange set of impressions floating around in her mind. _Haruno Katsumi, Haruno Natsumi, Haruno Sakura…_ Who was she? Uchiha Hitomi or Haruno Sakura? Her head hurt from just thinking about it. She wanted to ask her aniki, but she couldn't quiet find the words to form that thought or how to open her mouth or maneuver her tongue to speak. Itachi wasn't even looking at her, anyways.

After a brief staring contest with a distracted Itachi, who was staring at something over her head, her eyes, the only parts of her body she seemed to have proper control over right now, meandered away from his face. As far as she could tell, it was night time, and the air was really chilly. She involuntarily shuddered and tried to move closer to her brothers, the only warmth she could feel underneath the thin cocoon of blankets she was swathed in. Itachi seemed to realize her discomfort and tightened his arm around her as well as Sasuke. She wanted to thank him, but was reminded of her lack of speech by her unmoving tongue.

Suddenly, one of the most frightening sounds she'd ever heard so far in her entire life sounded- a roar that exceeded the decibel levels her ears were accustomed sounded somewhere in the far off, accompanied by numerous shouts. It was layered with so much malice and bloodlust that she started to bawl and Itachi cringed. It didn't help that once the deafening sound ended, multiple grotesque screeches followed, obviously from their producers' sudden demises. Sasuke heard it, too, if bawling his lungs out proved it.

For the first time in this life, she was frightened beyond reasoning. So she cried, and cried, and cried.

Aniki clutched on to her tighter, muffling her sounds by buried both toddler's faces into his shirt. Truthfully, he was scared, too. "Don't worry, otouto, imouto. Aniki is protecting both of you."

Some miles away, Kushina was sobbing, still helplessly chained against the mountain of boulders behind her. "Naruto…" she whispered, reminding herself why she was still alive right now. The realization of the outcome of the recent events were slowly piecing together in her mind; her child was going to grow up alone, shunned by all those that really should thank him, like she did.

"Sorry," she continued, speaking to no one in particular. The masked man was staring at her with that single visible eye of his like she had gone mad, but she couldn't care less. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Mommy wishes she could protect you from the pain…"

*Sorry

Well, how was it? Any suggestions? This was kinda like a filler arc…I think one more chapter before the true story begins is good enough…


	4. Shifting Perspectives

**Revision date: 02/18/2013**

** Disclaimer: All Naruto™ franchise, characters, books, original art, OAVs, movies, and anime are © Masashi Kishimoto, Tokyo TV, & VIC animations**

**The Sharpest Lives, the song that had inspired this silly idea, belongs to My Chemical Romance. **

* * *

Sakura, or Hitomi, was in a dilemma.

At the ripe age of eleven months old, she has already decided that absolutely _hated_her wardrobe.

"Ofou-fama," she said, moving her lips and almost toothless mouth to form the words, successfully gaining the man's attention. Then, she waved her chubby arms angrily at the now irritated man standing in front of her crib, conveying her dislike at the article of clothing that he was approaching with.

"On't like pwink dwess." She pouted, adjusting the muscles on her face so that she was mimicking what she'd seen other children express before. Her parents have been told by many relatives and the physician that her speech and motor development were "phenomenal", which she guessed meant "really awesome". They had also said that it wasn't normal for children her age to be speaking coherent sentences yet. Well, she couldn't help that she already had relatively a lot of life experience stored in her head. "Wred is pretty-er." She added, lamenting at her lack of teeth and muscle again.

Fugaku-tou-san, however, only frowned at her antics, his expression stern as he inched closer to her. She glared at the small icing pink kimono and the primrose obi that he was holding out to her, recalling the expression that Itachi-aniki used on Shisui-nii-san.

"Don't be silly, Hitomi." Fugaku scolded, using her other name as he frowned again. "This is what your mother picked out for you." He then tugged on the sleeve of his own navy blue kimono, showing the simple patterns printed on it to his child. "See? I am already dressed. You are expected to look your best today, as the festival celebrating the upcoming generation of the Uchiha clan will commence in a mere hour. Also, glaring ladies are frowned upon in polite society." He ended his speech with another stern glance at her, expecting his youngest to understand what he meant.

Sakura just blinked at him.

Fugaku brought his unoccupied hand up to his forehead, rubbing it. "Never mind what I had just said. As a child of the head of our clan, you are expected to speak with your manners. Remember what Okaa-sama and I have taught you and Sasuke?"

"Ai, ofou-fama," she answered automatically. The phrase was drilled into the twins' heads so many times that it was almost a second nature to both of them, even to Sasuke, whose vocabulary consists only of a handful of words. She grabbed the wooden bars of her crib and pulled herself up to stand on her mattress, trying to impress otou-sama. She knew how to execute the movement, but it was the lack of muscle development (again) that prevented her from fully doing it.

Fugaku sighed. "So, when I ask you to wear this," he began, gestured to the kimono and obi, completely ignoring the attempted move. "You are expected to obey."

Sakura deflated a little at that. "Okay, ofou-fama." she replied sadly, a little at the fact that she was being forced into wearing her least favorite color and a little because that otou-sama wasn't even slightly acknowledging her efforts at pleasing him.

Fugaku-tou-san nodded curtly, approving of her decision. "As is expected of the Uchiha clan," he said not so quietly, probably hoping to stamp that phrase in her consciousness forever. The eleven month old was promptly picked up, placed on a little mat situated on the floor of her and Sasuke's shared room next to her favorite stuffed bear as Fugaku proceeded to change her out of her pajamas.

"Vwhere is Saus-kay?" she asked him. Sakura had only woken up minutes ago, and the first thing she did was to search the entire room for any signs of her playmate and brother. After all, she spent a better part of her days frolicking or attempting to frolic with him. The blue wallpaper with the big red and white fans were there, and so was the other crib on the other side of the room and their numerous toys all piled in the middle, yet Sasuke was simply nowhere to be found. A feeling akin to disappointment fell over her.

"He is with Itachi," Fugaku answered simply, expertly flipping the child around so that her back was facing him, tying her obi. "Unlike you, Sasuke was awake at the cracks of dawn. Itachi had removed him from this room as to allow you a few more hours of rest."

Sakura's head hung with shame. Had she overslept again? Out of twins, it seemed that Sasuke was the early bird, a fact that made Fugaku-tou-san proud for some reason. She remembered him saying once that it had to do with "proper training schedules" or something, whatever that meant.

But every time Fugaku said that, her mind would prod at her with strange experiences that she was sure has never happened—things like a little girl with candy floss pink hair and two eyes that were exotic jade, looking at mirror twirling around in a new red dress—things like going to the playground, accompanied by a man with a head of strange pink hair styled into four points at the top of his head—things like being called _Sakura Haruno._

She was Hitomi Uchiha, wasn't she?

Not Sakura.

So why was her mind telling her that her real name was cherry blossom?

It was just something else she didn't understand about herself.

Sakura wanted to dwell on the thought a little longer or try digging for more information, but Fugaku had already picked her up. Adjusting her so that she was sitting in the crook of his elbow, he swiftly drew the bamboo door open. He gracefully exited the twins' room, delving into the morning traffic that was always present in the main hallway despite the circumstances with Sakura. Greetings were exchanged between Fugaku-tou-san and a lot of her clansmen (dressed in formal wear). It was a common sight, as otou-sama was the clan head. She tried to memorize every face that she could see, to amuse herself, not noticing the poisonous looks directed at her when Fugaku's back was turned.

Soon, they were outside. Numerous impromptu stalls and little carnival games were set up, looking out of place among so many stoic and formally dressed people. Sakura found herself darting her eyes around, trying to catch everything. As they passed a koi pond, a couple of older children ran by, laughing. She noticed their kimonos soaked and the koi were looking very agitated. She watched them run around, suddenly reminded of her previous "play dates" with other Uchiha children.

She only had three or four of them before, preferring to spend time with her brothers more, an opinion that she'd expressed to okaa-san after the first two. Her chosen playmates were all at least a year older than her. She knew, however, that there were plenty of toddlers closer to her age that could fulfill her rather interesting mental requirements. Mikoto-kaa-san had told her that she was to play with them and have fun while being polite and kind, but Sakura found herself being wary of all of them. They didn't seem like _children_. Children like her were supposed to laugh and smile and ask silly questions and throw temper tantrums and play house. All of her playmates were like robots. They move her stuffed animals around mechanically when they were pretending to be great ninja warriors battling with their summons. They told her nice things about herself that she knew weren't true. They smiled without crinkling their eyes, something that even aniki does, and aniki was the second most serious person she knew. Most of all, they didn't look happy.

The children that had just run by were _beaming_, though. She was fascinated. She wanted to squirm out of otou-sama's grasp and join them, but something told her that Fugaku-tou-san would just scold her again. So she settled to look around instead, hearing the low murmurs of conversation. The colors and sights were flooding her senses, and she noticed that there were clumps of older girls here and there dressed in kimonos with so little material that she couldn't help but to feel cold for them. And why were they looking at her like that? Did she do something wrong? Did they not want her to feel cold for them?

She was cut off by a childish shout. "Hiiii-tomi!" Sakura immediately turned towards the source of the sound, recognizing the voice.

"Saus-kay!" she giggled, reaching out to him, seeing her twin return the action in Itachi-aniki's arms. Both of the older Uchihas sighed and set the squealing children down. The twins had learned how to walk properly only recently, and it was funny to watch them wobble at the fastest rates they could over to each other.

Then, to Fugaku's everlasting horror, the twins happily gave each other a hug and Hitomi proceeded to nag Itachi to take them around the festival. Their older brother happily obliged, leaving Fugaku, their _father_ behind in the dust.

A long lecture would benefit the twins later; preferably about respecting one's parents.

Fugaku vaguely wondered if he should break this bond ahead of time by finding someone like Shisui to Itachi for each of them- it'll be a pain if they were put into separate genin teams.

* * *

A/N: Itachi has graduated by now... It took him one year to become a genin. Major time skip below. (Note: Sakura now as almost all her memoires up until age 12. Dun dun dun dun!)

* * *

By any means, Uchiha Fuumi was _not_a happy girl right now.

The little brat standing defiantly in front of her should barely be out of her diapers by this age, and yet they were, arguing about her _Academy homework_. If the tiny brat wasn't the daughter of the clan head, then she would've settled for more…violent means to end their little tirade right now. Like strangling her. Yes, something clean and easy.

It was very tempting.

A hand was brought to her temple, and the Second year student vigorously rubbed the sensitive skin near her eye for all her index and middle fingers were worth. The almost three year old sitting across from her only widened her stupid little smirk at her obvious display of distress, causing the already angered girl to scowl even deeper.

Today had _not_been a good day.

Her father had recently started a morning training regimen for her, inspired by the oh so wonderful Uchiha Itachi. Fuumi clenched the scroll that she had been studying earlier tighter in her unoccupied hand. _Father_, a minor failure amongst the Uchiha due to his inability to rise to the rank of jonin, should be the one training, not _Fuumi_, the number one in her class. Thus, the seven year old spent well over an hour before school started running laps around the compound and doing one-handed pushups. She ended up going to the Academy drenched in sweat, which definitely didn't help her already miserable social life.

Then, her instructor decided to start off their before-lunch lecture about one of Konoha's most prominent clans (Hint hint: it starts with a U) by telling her class about one of his past students from said clan. Which basically meant he spent over three minutes kissing up to all of his accomplishments. _Itachi_. She didn't know that one name could inspire so much jealousy and nostalgia in her. Jealousy for all of that endless talent he has, and nostalgia for the days that had passed. She had played with him a few times when they were younger- and, truth be damned, those days were one of the happiest periods of her life, even though she'd only spent a few hours with the heir. He was only a few months older than her, and they both loved playing near the woods. And after few years, that was where their similarities ended. Their bond, weak as it was to begin with, withered and frayed over time as Itachi became a living legend and she was cast aside, forever cloaked in his shadow.

They were the prime example of early friendship between a talented main member and a somewhat gifted branch member in most clans; an amiable friendship turning into a bitter one-sided jealousy in the matter of years.

Her foul mood only worsened at that particular comparison. It wasn't her fault that Itachi had been born with _everything-_the title of heir, good looks, prodigal amounts of talent, and a better bloodline that allowed him to activate the Sharingan by the time he graduated from the Academy.

And to add to that, she was stuck babysitting his younger sister right now.

Fuumi resisted the urge to glare at the girl, despite the fact that she was already conveying enough negative emotion to scare the wits out of Buddha. The Matriarch had taken the child's twin to town for a short shopping trip, and Fuumi was the most eligible person in the Matriarch's line of sight suited for the task of watching the third child of the clan head. She had almost been inclined to talk to the woman and drop some hints in favor of her father like he'd instructed, but she decided against it. If he wanted that promotion to special jonin, he was going to get it himself. But what about the consequences? If father heard about the opportunity she gave up, she would never hear the end of it. The mere thought of that made her shudder. Her mind compensated her insecurity by stating that he was just a selfish oaf.

That made Fuumi growl. It didn't take a once-in-a-century genius to know that her father was already lost in the labyrinths of power-seekers. Everything had been much better when her mother was around. That wasn't the case anymore, as the woman had died a year ago. Fuumi felt the anger and frustration leak out from her like the air rushing out of a deflated balloon, replaced by the incurable sadness that had filled her to the brim ever since Mama had left.

The child seemed to notice this, and the smirk was wiped off of her soft features. In its place was a curious look, as if questioning her sudden shift in her mood. Fuumi just shook her head.

"Thank you, Hitomi-san." She began hesitantly, almost as if testing the words on her tongue. The three year old looked taken back. It came out as a surprise to her, too, considering the fact that she was seriously thinking of strangling the annoying child earlier. "But I think I have the necessary facts to write my report on different usages for the Substitution Techniques. You can go play now."

The girl frowned, her face clouding with worry. For a second Fuumi was seriously regretting her initial judgments of the child. It had been awhile since someone had looked that genuinely concerned of her. And even though she knew that Hitomi wouldn't understand her situation even if she told her about it, somewhere deep down beneath the cold exterior, below that ever present layer of sadness, she was grateful.

Turning until her back was facing the child and leaving her to play alone, Fuumi bit her lip and began working on her essay so that the toddler wouldn't see the tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. Whether they were for lost friendships or dead mothers or her innocence, she wasn't certain.

The short fiasco between her and Fuumi a few hours ago was still floating around in her mindscape. Sakura was sporting a thoughtful look, the image of complete defeat and sadness on the older girl's face flashing again and again in front of her eyes even as she downed the bowl of rice and steamed fish fillets placed in front of her. Well, it was technically her fourth bowl. Grabbing the cup next to her and gulping some tea to ease her churning stomach, she noticed out of the corner of her eyes that Mikoto-kaa-san and Itachi-aniki was staring at her. She shrugged their reactions off. Eating had been her way with coping with uncertainties and worries ever since her First year in the Academy, if the memories in her head were accurate. Besides, Fugaku-otou-san should be proud of her for wanting to build up her frame so early in her career.

"Hitomi-imouto," Itachi's voice had an inkling of warning in it. Sakura stopped in the middle of bringing her laden chopsticks to her mouth and turned to Itachi-aniki, the smile of an innocent almost-three year old plastered on her face. "I am worried about your health. If you continue eating in that manner, people might mistake you for an Akimichi."

"I'm hungry," she said simply, returning to her thoughts and food once more and leaving Itachi-aniki's eye twitching. In her original timeline, people knew to steer clear of Sakura during one of her feeding frenzies.

Sakura found herself unable to suppress the notion that something was _very _wrong in the Uchiha clan. Fuumi was just another one of the puppet children- as she'd called the population of unhappy children in the compound, including some of her playmates- being used by their parents for their own gain. Skewering a piece of imported tilapia with her bamboo eating utensils, she yanked the meat off and began tearing at it for all her teeth were worth.

All of her clansmen were like vultures, tearing and snapping at each other for a corpse, never willing to share it. The corpse was pride.

And pride was rotten in that sense, right?

Something pricked at the back of her mind. Chewing thoughtfully, she turned right and examined Sasuke. Would he become one of those children, too? He seemed so much like Fuumi and the others during their academy years. Speaking of which, she was still confused as to what he was to her. He was her brother, yes. One of her best friends, too. But how would she explain her infatuation with him during the Academy years? Does that mean she liked him _that _way?

It grossed her out. There was no way she could love him in _that _way now.

* * *

Turning her attention back to her food, she continued to wallow in her thoughts.

Wake up. Say good morning to kaa-san and tou-san. Eat breakfast. Say bye to Itachi-nii when he leaves for missions. There goes a morning.

Listen to otou-sama's speeches and lessons. Play with Hitomi-imouto. Explore the compound. Eat lunch. Play with Hitomi-imouto. Explore the compound again. Listen to the tutor talk about cool ninja things. Say bye to tutor-san. Be convinced by Hitomi-imouto to dress up as a girl and then chase her to get revenge. Take a nap. Well, that's another seven hours.

Say hi to Itachi-nii when he comes home. Pester him for awhile. Beg with Hitomi-imouto to have aniki take them training and sometimes succeed, and then watch aniki do super awesome ninja things with Shisui-nii. Go home and take a shower. Eat dinner. Play with Hitomi-imouto. And Itachi-nii too, if he has time. Have a story about super cool shinobi heroes read to him and Hitomi-imouto. Go to sleep with his mana-chan****.

There goes Uchiha Sasuke's day.

Tonight, however, Sasuke felt himself twisting and turning amongst his sheets. Hitomi is usually the one to fuss around at bedtime, since he could always hear her rolling around in her bed on the other side of the room, muttering to herself. He was the one who "sleeps like a rock until I poke him", like Itachi-nii says to Shisui-nii. He scowled, hating how aniki would always wake him up with a chakra-enhanced poke to the forehead.

The three (almost four) year old sighed dramatically and buried his head into his pillow, smothering himself in the softness. Their cribs had been tossed away the moment they had turned two, replaced by two identical wooden beds with built in drawers for clothing, spread with red and blue sheets for Hitomi and Sasuke respectively. Speaking of Hitomi-imouto, she was actually asleep by now. Her breathing was all evened out. He tried to match her pattern, but the more he concentrated on the way she was expelling and inhaling air, the more awake he felt. It's not that he was uncomfortable or something. His mattress was made from memory foam, and so was his pillow. Besides, May was one of his favorite months; not too cool, not too hot, no annoying amounts of pollen in the air or scalding sunlight, and it was filled with tomatoes galore. Oh, tomatoes! Sasuke involuntarily smiled, imagining the sweet, juicy fruit…

He shook his head rapidly, remembering that he was supposed to be sleeping. He was actually really tired, so what was keeping him awake? Is there going to be something exciting happening tomorrow?

Wait.

Wait a second.

He had a lead! Otou-sama had told him and Hitomi something today that made them squeal like 3 year old today! Sasuke racked his mind again, trying to figure what it was that so important…

He was interrupted by the sound of the window sliding quietly open.

His heart rate skyrocketing, Sasuke slowly rolled himself over, just in time to see Hitomi-imouto's crouching form straighten and jump out of their window.

_What?_

He immediately turned to her moonlit bed. It was empty.

Grabbing a shirt and stuffing his feet into his sandals, he climbed up the bedside table underneath the open window and scrambled to the ledge, barely thinking as he tugged his shirt on and dropped onto the grass below. He saw Hitomi-imouto disappearing into a path up ahead, and once he recovered his balance, he followed.

Wake up at three in the morning. Feel paranoid and look for any signs of intruders or very familiar mass murderers. Walk over to the other bed and check her twin for any signs of change. Meditate to get her chakra reserves going and do some basic strength exercises if she has time before her "mother and father" enter the room. Say good morning to the clan Patriarch and Matriarch that were her parents in a way, but weren't in another. Have an internal thinking session about her current situation. Eat breakfast while observing her current family members for any clues that could signify the beginning of the early demise of their clan. Say good bye to the man that will one day singlehandedly be the cause of the demise and thereby tossing his brother's soul to the devil, all the while wearing a genuine smile for the boy that was her aniki.

It had been that way ever since she remembered the Chunin exams and Sasuke's departure.

Listen to Fugaku's speeches about keeping the Uchiha clan's name in honor and glory and try to ignore Inner's jeers at her father. Play with Sasuke. Upon his request, go around and explore the Uchiha compound that seems to expand every day. Eat lunch with kaa-san and try to convince Sasuke not to kill himself from eating tomatoes. Play with Sasuke. Explore the compound once more. Listen to the tutor that probably knew less than her talk about everything ranging from the history of the Three Sannin and their battle with Hanzo to the main exports of the other Elemental Nations. Say bye to the tutor. Convince Sasuke to dress up as a girl and then "run away" from him. Pretend to fall asleep with Sasuke and once he's out cold, practice her hand seals and stamina outside. Well, that's another seven hours.

Get back to her room and appear clean before Sasuke wakes up. Say hi to Itachi when he comes home from missions, with a hidden Shisui watching him nearby and laughing his ass off when they pester him. Beg with all her childish might to have him take them out training and sometimes succeed. Watch legends in making train and take note to use their techniques later. Go home and take a shower. Eat dinner with her whole family, and watch for any signs of tension. Play with Sasuke once more. And Itachi if he has time. Have a bedtime story read to her about some great event in shinobi history. Wait until Sasuke goes to sleep again and set out to revive her past glory.

Today, however, was different. Fugaku had taken them aside earlier and informed them that he will start their official clan training tomorrow. Usually, he'd just be babbling to them about the clan's accomplishments with Sakura listening half-heartedly (some of it _was _actually interesting) and Sasuke memorizing his every word.

"_Hitomi, Sasuke." Fugaku started, his tone serious. Sakura recognized this immediately and she focused on him, letting her chakra coils settle down. She had been filling them to their maximum capacity and withdrawing the chakra just as quickly, to enlarge her reserves. "I am going to be candid with the two of you."_

_Said children involuntarily sat up straighter on their bamboo mats, adjusting their legs so that they were folded more neatly under them._

"_In less than two months, you will both be turning four. That means that the two of you only have another two years until you begin attending the Academy. Now, both of you know of Itachi's accomplishments, do you not?"_

_Sasuke grumbled slightly before they nodded._

_Fugaku continued. "Yes, your brother is quite a prodigy. He shall be taking the chunin exams soon, and, if he passes, he will truly be amazing. For now, that is enough about your brother's deeds.__I expect you two to be every bit as astonishing as your brother has turned out to be.__However, do any of you know _how _your brother achieved that?"_

_Sasuke slowly shook his head, and while Sakura knew the answer, she followed in suit as well._

_Fugaku sighed. "Exactly. You two are still a long way from becoming your , you first training session is tomorrow."_

_Sakura's eyes widened for a millisecond and Sasuke started to tremble before erupting into cheers._

Sakura smiled at her brother's cuteness, the movement bringing her back to her current predicament, which was trying to fall asleep. She was going to have fun tomorrow. Just _think _of the things she could accomplish with her own medical and chakra control prowess, combined with the benefits of being an Uchiha descendent, which was a deluxe package on its own. Ninjas were taught to take advantage of anything that may be in their favor no matter how grave the situation, and Sakura found that piece of advice very reliable.

The smile faltered, and the ever-present question of _how _she ended up as Sasuke's twin was brought up by a yelling Inner. Last she checked, he was her crazy _teammate_, and she was still a _Haruno_, still Tsunade's apprentice. If you ignored the three years and ten months she spent as Uchiha Hitomi, that is.

It still unnerved her to think that Sasuke, the innocent, ever happy and almost _Naruto-like _Sasuke would become that soulless monster brainwashed by revenge. She shuddered, memories resurfacing at the notion.

During her time as a member of Team 7, she had always wondered who the man that Sasuke was so intent on killing was. The Uchiha Massacre itself was a very touchy subject throughout the whole village, and only vague records of it existed for public use and references. Being the Hokage's apprentice had its perks, though. All she had to do was ask and she could've gotten into some of the better guarded archives. It was only until after she'd been promoted to a chunin that she decided to do some research and- voila.

So that's how she'd first heard of Uchiha Itachi. He was an enigma to her at first, a stunning specimen that the medic-nin side of her so wanted to examine. Not in that way, of course- it was his _mentality_. She was no expert on psychology, but the few reliable files she'd found on him revealed surprising information; mostly things that one didn't expect a 13 year old ANBU captain to do. Although she now had the chance to look and ponder at him all she wanted, he was still a mystery waiting to be solved.

_Oh, Uchiha Itachi, who art thou? _Or, in other words, how the _hell _did you change from a loving brother into that _monster _of an S-class missing-nin? I _know_ you love your siblings more than you care for yourself, so why…?

She shook her head. If things kept on going like how they did, then she would probably remember something that would shed some light on the subject soon. Almost every day she'd wake up with new memories from her life as Sakura Haruno. It was almost as if she was living two lives at once. Her identity crises had far too many questions surrounding it- questions that she just didn't want to answer until she had everything. Just today she was provided with a clear image of the day that Naruto and Jiraiya returned to Konohagakure in the future…or is it the past? But how is that even possible? She wasn't even sure which is which anymore.

Speaking of Naruto, she was sure he was out there somewhere right now. If she wasn't freaking _housebound_, she would've found him and knocked some sense into him by the time he was able to speak, dammit! She _had _to find him,_had _to motivate him so that he might unseal his potential at an earlier age and maybe the whole nightmare during the chunin exams wouldn't happen, and Orochimaru wouldn't…

She growled, taking care to muffle the sound with a mouthful of her soft cotton sheets. Now that she knew what his plans were, she was _not _going to let him win this time. There was no way in hell that she'd let that snake bastard steal her twin brother, teammate, and, even though it disgusts her to think of it, her first love once upon a time.

But how was she supposed to stop Orochimaru, as in Orochimaru of the Three Legendary Sannin? By crying him to death? And what if he comes after _both _her and Sasuke? What was she supposed to do then?

In truth, Sakura had actually given a lot of thought into the subject. The main reason why Sasuke submitted to the Curse Seal was because of his need for revenge and his impressive amounts of hate. If he hadn't possessed any of those, the seal wouldn't have worked on him.

So, all she had to do was either a) kill Orochimaru before everything happens b) make him not have any of those two qualities.

The latter was a more realistic choice.

Well then, how to do it? For one thing, a huge reason _why _Sasuke went through such a huge change (a change that didn't even go unnoticed by her fangirl self) after the massacre was probably because he was betrayed by the person closest to him. Now that she had plenty of time to think about it, he should've seen a psychiatrist or at least gotten some therapy at some point during the aftermath. Any of those two would've made a huge change, no matter how lame they sounded. Whoever had been in charge of the social services back then should be tortured by Ibiki for their lack of common sense.

However, she could tell that he wasn't fully devoted to Itachi this time around because, well, he has another sibling. That should lessen the blow a little. The smile morphed into a smirk. Fuck, she was technically the eldest in the family. And knowing that, she'll _never _let him fall for that again. And, if she could, she will do all she can to prevent the Massacre from happening.

Her train of thought was interrupted when her ears picked up a faint rustling sound outside. Hearing had always been her most acute sense, tying closely with vision thanks to her month being near-blind from an experiment with poisons gone awry when she was fifteen. That was a story for another time, however. The sound was definitely made by soft fabric, maybe something like a cloak. _A cloak…_Cloaks were forbidden in the clan, unless they were issued by the Hokage for mission that requires one to travel to harsher climates. Therefore, it can't be an Uchiha.

Silently, she drew her legs up underneath her and sat up, coiling up like a cobra about to strike while scooting to press her back to the wall. This was all done in less than a second, during which she was also groping for a weapon, only to realize that all they had were some blunted kunai. Cursing underneath her breath, she cast her eyes to the large window, straining to catch another clue of the intruder.

And there he was.

Orange mask decorated with a swirling orange pattern, black hair spiked up, swathed from head to toe with black.

He was perched there, on their open window, seeming to be regarding her with a somewhat curious expression using his only visible eye.

She froze, and the skin around the single crimson eye crinkled in a half-assed attempt at a smile at her surprise.

_Sharingan. He has the sharingan._

His form flickered for a brief moment, and he was gone.

Sakura wasted no time in jumping into her shoes and gracefully leaping up to the windowsill with a burst of chakra. Her timing had been perfect- if she had been even a moment too hesitant, she would've missed the mysterious man dashing off into the forest at a breakneck speed.

Cursing colorfully once more, she bunched the muscles of her leg like a swimmer would before the beep sounded, and propelled herself forward in a motion too fluid for someone of her caliber. Growling at her lack of muscle mass, she sent another wave of chakra to her thighs before running after the man. She should've noticed that Sasuke had seen her.


	5. In and Out

_I was so indecisive…it took me forever to think out how the plot will progress. If this doesn't work out, I'll just change the whole thing. I was gonna have Tobi take them and train them at first, but then I thought it'll work out better if I saved that for post Chunnin exams. Eh. Tell me what you think._

_Thanks to all my lovely readers~!_

* * *

He'd been watching them for days now; a boy, his twin, and a jinchuuriki. It was a strange collection of people for someone like him.

He was rewarded with interesting information concerning all of his subjects. The blond boy did nothing but mope around the village and consume shocking amounts of ramen. He had a surprisingly good instinct for avoiding danger, though. The little jinchuuriki had potential, but nobody was willing to show him how to harness it. And because of that, he felt a sense of hopelessness just looking at him.

On the other hand, the Uchihas were part of a prestigious clan that had plenty of opportunities just waiting for them. All of which would bring immense pressure along with the glory they offered. The perfect example of that was their aniki; one of the most successful people in their generation, his triumph partly due to the scores of people holding proverbial knives pointed towards his back. If their father's teachings held true, they'd end up in the same position, too. He had a feeling that both of them will live extremely grueling lives.

The Uchiha twins by themselves were little enigmas. They were so different that one wouldn't believe that they were brother and sister. She was alert, cunning, and delicately austere. He was attractive with his childish personality, stubborn as _hell_ and completely oblivious to his sister's hidden knowledge. Those traits will all change very soon, if his plans were accomplished. An ugly snicker spread across his face beneath the mask.

He was looking forward to that day.

But for now, he had something to do.

The girl was following him. She was keeping her distance but never letting him out of her sight. He knew she was hiding something. For how else could such a young child notice him when he'd been specifically hiding himself from view? Besides, he was sure that they haven't even begun their official training yet. So that didn't explain how she was using chakra to aid her legs. It was a skill present in only genin or shinobi of higher ranks.

What to do now? He absentmindedly weighed his choices. He could hear the almost inaudible sounds of her feet pounding on the ground as he led them deeper into the forest, towards the lake in the center. He had definitely not expected her to be alerted to his presence- he was going to wait another week until borrowing the three for a little while. He _did _have a plan behind all the espionage.

His ear twitched as he heard something akin to the sound of stumbling in the distance. It was Sasuke. The boy was after the girl, too, and it only added to the difficulty of this situation. He almost rolled his eyes. They were inseparable that way. He had made a split second decision after noticing the second person on his trail and purposefully slowed himself so that both of them will keep up.

Well, he'll just have to improvise now.

He sneered, slowing as the fauna around him receded into packed earth, the trees giving him a wide berth to reveal an enormous body of water. He allowed himself one deep drag of the fresh air before sprinting to the docks and skimming across the water to stand in the middle of the lake.

Sakura could barely believe that such a short run had her breathing so heavily right now. With an arm wrapped around her chest, trying to sooth her burning lungs, she staggered into the clearing. Oh, she was _definitely _overdue for a proper workout. Well, she had plenty of time to work on that later.

Now, back to the present. Where was that crazy man trying to go, anyways?

She took her free hand and swept it across her moist brow, shuffling her feet so that the dewy cold grass can brush over the exposed skin of her toes. A breeze whispered past her, and the land in front of her rippled, causing the moon's image to waver on its surface. Wait. Oh, that's where they were.

Itachi had taken them here a week ago, so they could watch him train. While he and Shisui practiced their Katon jutsus over the lake, she and Sasuke had observed, completely transfixed. It was truly amazing to watch the enormous fireballs being spat out of such relatively tiny people, skimming across the huge lake surface and sputtering out only right before they reached the other end. Shisui had even bragged that he can make them go even further, and Sakura had no doubt that he had the skills to back up that statement. She let herself fantasize about the day when she could do the same.

Truthfully, she'd thought at first that it was weird having a lake in the forest. Fugaku explained to her that the reason why there was a large body of water in the middle of a clan that specialized in Fire jutsus were because they couldn't risk burning the compound down during practice; and because there were a special few with Water as their second affinity. A good example was Itachi himself.

And, besides, she'd seen for herself how _clear _the waters were. It was a lot better than some of the other fresh water resources in Konoha. No parasite, no worms, no algae, no dirt, and not a single trace of any harmful chemicals. True to the Uchiha standards, indeed. Itachi had promised them that once he has the time, he'll take them swimming there.

Heck, she'd drink from it.

She shook her thoughts away. They were useless right now. Forcing her feet to move and lug her over to where she saw the shape of a man in the middle of the lake, she barely noticed as another set of footsteps closed in behind her.

"Hi…tomi." A small hand that she recognized as Sasuke's rested on her shoulder. A shadow fell over the side of her cheek, and she felt soft black hair brush against her neck, accompanied by the warmth of his shallow breath.

She whipped around and set her hands on his shoulders. "Sasuke! Why…how…what are we…"

A bone chilling laugh echoed around them, causing Sakura to trail off and Sasuke to flinch.

"My, my. What a heartwarming scene." The baritone voice was smooth, rolling through her like dark chocolate down her throat. It was the voice possessed by only two kinds of people-successful businessmen and S-class criminals. Sakura felt a cube of ice slide down her back in reaction. Out of pure reflexes, she tightened her hold on Sasuke, shifting her arm so that she was wrapping him in a one-armed hug.

The moonlit form on the lake shimmered, and suddenly it was gone.

"I'm afraid this won't last very long, however. You can't know about me." Sakura's eyes widened as he realized that the cloaked man was now standing only a few inches away, his form bent over her.

Sasuke began to shiver, and Sakura flinched away from the man.

_**Run!**_

Sakura barely heard Inner. The single red eye crinkled once again. "Nighty night, children!" It was a sickeningly sweet statement. A searing pain suddenly erupted in her back, and Sakura barely felt panic overtake her as darkness enveloped her vision.

* * *

She fought to stay conscious, to be aware of what the masked man was doing to her and her twin. But he must've hit her in a vital spot- some part of the spinal cord, maybe? All she could get were filtered bits and pieces of the real world as she drifted around in her mindscape.

A recent memory wobbled by- when Itachi had tucked her to bed earlier. Her older brother had been vigilant on doing this every night for the past two years. No matter how tired or worn-out he was from practice and his missions, and no matter what Fugaku had told him about "improper actions of a clan heir", he'll always be the one to draw the blankets up to her chin, sweat and dirt and fatigue be damned.

"_I love you, imouto." Itachi said, sweeping a long bang from the front of her face so that it was sprawled loosely over her pillow._

_A set of cold lips was pressed chastely onto her forehead. _

"_Me too, aniki." Itachi gave her a tiny smile before he shunshined away._

* * *

With the twins stored cautiously in the knapsack hanging over his shoulder, he made his way towards the central part of Konoha, towards the Hospital. Telephone lines and concrete walls zipped past under his feet, which were barely touching any surfaces thanks to years and years of honing his speed.

Kabuto should be waiting for him there.

He smirked.

* * *

The sweet moment of sibling love was short lived, however. She only has four years left until Itachi leaves; the painful fact gnawed. She felt her emotions churn and twist inside her, eating away at her like sulfuric acid.

The bittersweet agony overtook her, and by the time the second memory came to be, she was already completely shut off from the real world.

* * *

"You got them?" The voice was rather gruff for a fourteen year old*. He regarded the boy for a few seconds, noticing how there were strands of white hair streaking through his natural silver. Good for him- better to know the stress of leading their kind of lifestyle sooner than later.

He smirked. The medic looked very unhappy at being awakened at this ungodly hour.

Wrinkling his nose at the reeking scent of stale bodies and pungent chemicals permeating in the stifling air of the hospital basement, he responded by merely tossing the bag from his shoulder on to the worktable.

Kabuto's glasses glinted in the low lighting as scurried closer and bent forward to examine his newest subjects.

"They're alive." he stated bluntly, obviously not impressed. "How am I supposed to use a seal on them that was designed for corpses?"

Not waiting for a reply, Kabuto whisked out a measuring tape and began to arrange the children carefully on the table.

"I know, and I want them kept that way. These two are rather important pawns. Important pawns are useless when dead. Besides, we both know that you are smart enough to adjust the seals on the spot. Orochimaru's right-handed man is a rather skill-intensive position, and you alone have the medical knowledge as well as an intimate understanding of the Snake-Sannin's mind to operate this project."

Kabuto stopped his poking and measurements momentarily and looked up, an eerie smile spreading across his too eager face.

"Why, resorting to compliments already, Oh great Madara of the Uchiha?"

He noticed the hint of a snarky tone in there.

"You are treading on eggshells there, orphan boy."

The triumphant look on Kabuto's face morphed into something darker, while the muscles of his jaw tightened. For a moment it looked as if he was about to snap out a reply. Instead, he just continued on, taking out a clipboard and jotting down a few notes.

_I win._

He smirked once more and adjusted his mask. Then, he reached a gloved hand into the front pocket of his cloak and dug out a large scroll, flicking the object over to Kabuto. The boy caught it with one hand, not even bothering to look up from his scribbling.

"A payment." The storage scroll he'd just tossed to him contained twenty different cadavers, as well as an A-rank ijutsu technique from Kumo. "I expect you to be done in five hours, _Yakushi._"

He snickered as he noticed Kabuto's hand twitch from the accent on his last name.

"Hai, Madara-_sama_."

He ignored the comment, thinking of how funny this situation was.

Funny, because five hours was all it took for Kabuto to finish inscribing two seals that prevented the Curse Seal from working onto two average toddlers. This was to make sure that Orochimaru didn't get the twins during his planned invasion.

Satisfied, he body-flickered away.

* * *

The next memory proved to be just as painful as the first.

"_Mommy, what is love?" __Seven year old Haruno Sakura asked mildly, apple green eyes directed away. A faint blush dusted across the bridge of her nose, and she shuffled meekly as she followed her mother through the din of the evening market._

_The woman recognized the look on her daughter's face immediately. She had expected this question to come sooner or later. Sakura's little affection for that cute little Uchiha was blatantly obvious. A mischievous smile tugged at her lips, but she forced it down._

_"What is love?" The woman repeated, stopping suddenly in front of a donburi restaurant, causing her daughter to do the same. She put on a dreamy look of her own, and sighed, just to add to the dramatic effect. "Love is that warm feeling you get when you look at someone. The warm feeling that makes you believe there is a reason why you met them, a reason why there are coincidences in the world. It makes you want to hold their hand for an eternity and cherish them forever." Though she doubt her young daughter understood half of what she'd just said, her words hit home- the blush on her daughter's face deepened._

_She counted five seconds before dropping the bomb._

_"Tell me, honey, is it that young Sasuke in your class?"_

_And Natsumi couldn't help but to burst out in giggles when her daughter's face turned to a deep shade of red that matched the sunset behind them._

* * *

Kabuto adjusted his glasses so that it rested more comfortably on the bridge of his nose, swiping a finger across the moist skin of his face and wiping away a drop of sweat as he worked.

* * *

Seven.

What a magical number. It was the age when she first "loved", when she first gave her heart out to someone who didn't care.

It was just like how Naruto's childish obsession with her started.

_"Sakura-chan!"_

_The girl grasped at her pink locks in frustration, causing her pencil to simultaneously fall to the ground._

_Out of all times, did that nuisance _have _to choose to ask her out to a date in the middle of a test?_

Some people actually care about their grades_, she remembered thinking._

_There was only one response left._

_She delivered a powerful punch to the future Hokage's head that sent him flying across the classroom._

* * *

Children's nightshirts were rolled up, exposing the tender skins of their backs to Kabuto. The brush was dipped elegantly into a well of black ink, and carefully, Kabuto began to paint.

* * *

_"You are annoying." Sakura felt something inside her clench and twist, but she was unable to draw her eyes away from that smirk on Sasuke's face._

_And she had been so happy with being on his team, too._

_"Even more annoying than Naruto." Sakura shrank, feeling the gooseflesh forming on her arms as a chilly breeze brushed by._

_Off to a good start now, aren't we?_

* * *

A stroke there, a line here, and a few kanji in the center. Nothing like a good ol' seal. In the background, the clock ticked to one. Kabuto's hand spasmed from the unexpected sound, and he had to grab onto his wrist so that he wouldn't ruin his handiwork.

* * *

The more memories filtered in, the more she cursed her stupidity in the past.

* * *

Sakura resurfaced from the memory like a diver ascending from the depths of a watery expanse, shaking the droplets of terror from her mind.

* * *

_He was leaving, and through the tears, she could see it in his eyes._

_He was leaving, once and for all._

_But she wasn't prepared when he appeared behind her, whispering. "Thank you, Sakura." He knocked her out while simultaneously, laying her body on the bench._

_Throughout it all, she felt a primal rage rising inside her-_

_What was he thanking her for? Her weakness?_

* * *

And then it was all gone.

"Will they be alright, kaa-san?" A voice, laced with worry, slipped through her mental shield, prodding a part of her brain into a conscious state.

It took her one second to realize that she was now conscious.

_How long was I out?_

Being the medic she was, she immediately started assessing her situation. Her chakra levels were normal, well, at least for her physical limitations, but there was something weird about it that she'd like to investigate in later. It was disrupted, flowing in different routes, similar to subjects who'd had sealwork done on them recently. Besides that, all her organs were functioning, aside from her brain, which felt a little groggy. Perhaps a concussion there. Aside from that, her throat was dry, her stomach was on its way to eating itself, and her eyelids were way too heavy when she tried to open her eyes.

She estimated she had lingered in the mind world for at least three days...courtesy of one masked man.

Sad, considering she couldn't even _stop _that from happening.

"They'll be fine, Itachi." _Kaa-san? Itachi-nii?_

And with one final struggled against her eyelids, she slid them open.

The sight that greeted her relieved her entire soul.

She was back in her bedroom, with Itachi sitting on a stool next to her bed, and she felt Sasuke lying on her bed next to her, his elbow poking into her ribs. The window to her right was open, and a gentle breeze wafted in, tussling her brother's ebony locks. Mikoto was right behind her brother, her hair mussed and dark circles beneath her eyes.

The sight alarmed her. "Kaa-" she began, only to be cut off.

"Are they awake?" Fugaku appeared in the doorway, his deep voice demanding.

Next to her, Sasuke stirred from his volume, and groaned.

Her father looked at him with an unreadable expression in his crimson eyes, and then turned to examine her.

"Good, your training has been delayed for long enough. We will start now."

* * *

*Kabuto was 19-20 in part I, and right now they're like…what, 4? And the Rookie 9 were 12. Basic math: 20-12=8. Kabuto was supposed to be…eight years old. Whoops. Well, let's just ignore that.

Read and review! I'm not particularly happy with this chapter- I'll probably edit it later. And about the part with Sakura and the Killers, I'll probably expand on that later on, but I'm not sure :P


	6. Let It Begin

Get ready for a lot of training. I know the update took FOREVER but I also tweaked some things in chapter five, so you guys might wanna check that out too. WAIT NO GO BACK AND READ CHAPTER FIVE ALL OVER AGAIN. PLEASE. I TOOK OUT THE ENTIRE WEIRD FLASHBACK THING AND REPLACED IT WITH THINGS ABOUT SASUKE. Ignore this if you started this story on my 6th update.

On a different note, many people didn't seem to understand the seal. It was to prevent Orochimaru's curse seal from working because Tobi may or may not take over his role in this story... Oh well, you'll all know in due time.

Well…now that you've read chapter five- READ AND ENJOY CHAPTER SIX! This one came out to be pretty long, so I hope you'll be satisfied :D And don't forget to review *wink wink*.

* * *

"Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up from his never ending paperwork and right into the crimson eyes of a trembling Uchiha patriarch.

"Fugaku-san." A curt nod was spared towards the stern-faced man. Right now, it was barely dawn, and he was certain that he hasn't summoned his jounins. Or any of the clan heads, for that matter. Why was he here?

The logical side of him immediately started to churn, sifting through his mind for more information. Fugaku wasn't the type to come unexpected- this must be an emergency. Something about his younger children, perhaps? From the stony look on the man's face, it must've been dire, too.

His train of thought was broken when said man standing before him gave him a quick bow. Sarutobi's trained eye naturally picked up the stiffness in his muscles as he bowed low. The action further confirmed his suspicions.

"I hesitate to interrupt you, Hokage-sama. But if you'd please, I have an emergency. I'd like to have a discussion with you in _absolute _privacy."

If Hiruzen was still wearing his Hokage hat, he would've raised an eyebrow. Without the cover of the wide-brimmed accessory, though, it would've been rude. He looked down at the mound of work spanning the length of his desk and decided that a quick audience wouldn't hurt his sanity.

Sighing, he motioned for him to sit down on the intricately carved chair before him. "Be my guest, Fugaku-san."

The man slid into the chair gracefully, and Sarutobi drew out his pipe as he began talking.

"I presume you know of my younger children, Hitomi and Sasuke?"

The Hokage nodded, letting the scent of tobacco leaves fill the office as he exhaled.

Fugaku took a deep breath. "We found them elsewhere in the compound yesterday, removed from their beds. They haven't woken up since."

The Hokage froze in the middle of a long draw. _That must mean…_

"Our compound was infiltrated. We have no idea who intruded, and we can't fathom _why _they would possibly do that, much less _how._"

_Shit._

The Uchiha clan's compound had one of the village's strongest security systems; as expected of a clan possessing a powerful dojutsu. It was literally impossible to enter or exit without someone noticing you. So when the head of said clan personally came and reported an intruder to you, the whole _village's _safety could be at risk.

Finishing his drag, the Hokage rubbed his temples. He was getting too old for his job. Sometimes it seemed like Naruto just couldn't grow up fast enough to take over.

Voice drier than usual, he looked grimly at the man. "And how are your children faring, Uchiha-san?" He would never hear the end of it from the council if the two new potential prodigies were harmed.

The defined edges of Fugaku's face darkened, and the muscles of his jaw worked as he spoke. "Both are staving off a high fever. Our medic has examined them and found that there has been some sort of seal inscribed onto the back of their necks."

The pipe fell from loose fingers, and the Hokage had to send a pulse of water chakra at it before it could do any damage to his precious pile of work. At the same time, his mind was rapidly working out the clues. _Seals, incredible stealth, and a passion for Uchihas._

Fifty years of juggling a shinobi career has done him well- by now, his brain had already deduced, with the help of supplementary information from Jiraiya's monthly reports and Minato's last mission missive, that there was only one person that could fit all the categories.

_Uchiha Madara.*_

_What could he possibly want with this?_

* * *

The meeting with the Hokage from two days ago ran through Fugaku's head like a broken record as he walked briskly down the hall, ignoring the greetings thrown at him by members of his extended family as they passed through.

"_Do you know of Uchiha Madara, Fugaku-san?"_

Fugaku remembered himself scoffing at that strange comment. Of course he knew Uchiha Madara, as in _the _Uchiha Madara that was the _goddamn _founder of Konoha along with Hashirama Senju, as in one of _the _most talented members to ever be produced amongst his clansmen. Though the legend had eventually gone down the wrong path, he was still widely revered by many. Fugaku himself held a grudging respect for the man.

"_I have a conjecture, Fugaku-san. Uchiha Madara, whom is still alive, was the one that intruded your compound."_

Fugaku wasn't stupid—Madara was well over a century old. Besides, why the hell would he do something as random as putting some seals on his children? But despite Fugaku's initial shock, the Hokage had plenty of proof to back up his crazy suggestion.

For the safety of his entire extended family, Fugaku had kept everything revealed in the meeting to himself. The Hokage had also expressed his wish to keep the several A-rank secrets amongst the two of them, too. Part of him surged with pride from knowing that Sarutobi trusted him with the information, but another was struggling to find a viable explanation to offer to the elders in the clan. Actually, his entire family was in an uproar right now. Who dares challenge _them_, one of the strongest clans in the world? From that thought alone, he felt a yearning to tell everything. But who knows what they would think if they hear about the return of their original Patriarch?

Fugaku was rarely frustrated, and when he was, he usually expressed it by doing whatever task was at hand feverously. Which was, at the moment, storming down the hall. More important than all of that whatnot, Hitomi and Sasuke had just woken up. They'd missed their birthday, and he wanted to see that he was the first to congratulate them for turning four years old. And he wasn't about to squander anymore time that could be spent training the newest set of prodigies. He was even going to start off with a different approach this time…

Finally reaching his destination, Fugaku drew open the set of sliding doors, ignoring the poorly-drawn crayon pictures taped to them. Several of them depicted colorful blobs that he suspected to be Sasuke's work, and he had a vague feeling the tall and dark blob was supposed to be him.

His attention fixated on his son and wife as the door slid away. They've been with the twins for awhile now, and both seemed tired even as they turned towards him, eyes wide. He spared a tiny smile at them, his lips upturned just enough for them to see. The action lasted for a fraction of a second before it was erased, replaced promptly by a question.

"Are they awake?" he demanded loudly.

Not waiting for an answer, he directed his gaze to the bed. Sasuke was stirring, eyelids fluttering open at the sudden spike of loudness in the conversation. Subconsciously activating his Sharingan, Fugaku ran his eyes across his son. Finding no significant physical or internal damage, he turned to his daughter. Hitomi was already sitting up, and though her chakra flow was slightly disrupted like Sasuke's, she was fine otherwise. Fugaku felt a glimmer of relief settle inside him—they were safe, at least. He wanted to hold his children and reassure them that Tou-san was here, that nobody was going to take them away.

The notion was kicked out of his head before he could form them into actions. Now wasn't the time for spoiling his children. For in a few moments, they will become true Uchihas.

"Good, your training has been delayed for long enough. We will start now." A smile found its way to his face as he announced. "Oh, and happy late birthday, children."

By now, Sasuke was already fully awake, and he was gaping at his father with a mixture of disbelief and sleepy excitement.

"You mean…we get to do ninja things now? Like throwing kunai and shruiken and doing cool jutsu and walking on water and going pow pow pow pow pow on the training dummies?" Sasuke asked, his voice rising higher and higher with each thought. Inside, Fugaku snorted.

His daughter, on the other hand, look unfazed by the news that Sasuke found so intriguing. "It was our birthday?"

"Yes, and yes. We'll celebrate later." He nodded, fighting the urge of his facial muscles to form into another upwards curve at the thought of his little baby twins growing up. "Ten seconds to get dressed, and you'll follow me."

The both stared at him in disbelief for a split second before the meaning of his words settled in. As if finally registering what was happening, the twins scrambled up and hurriedly dressed, throwing on random articles of clothing. Fugaku watched with hidden amusement as Sasuke tried to tug on a shirt that was fitted for Hitomi, and Hitomi realizing with dismay that the shorts she was trying to pull on were Sasuke's. Mikoto smiled at her children's antics and beckoned them over, handing each one of them a set of neatly folded clothes and taking the mismatched outfits away. A chorus of thank you's were directed at their beaming mother.

When Hitomi and Sasuke were finally each dressed tidily in gray shorts and soft long-sleeved black shirts, Fugaku motioned for them to come. He turned around and began walking, but he had barely taken one step before a small hand tugged at the back of his shirt.

"Tou-sama…" Fugaku paused. Sasuke was grabbing onto the soft material of the hem, a pleading look in his eyes. Hitomi stood right behind him, hesitantly staring at Fugaku's hand behind a set of long eyelashes.

Understanding dawned upon him as he saw his children inching their hands closer towards his. _They want me to..._

He swallowed, trying his best to ignore how cute they looked. In the end, he gave in when Sasuke started pouting and took one small hand in each of his palms, gripping on tightly before he tugged them along. Their footsteps pattered down the large hallway for a good minute before Hitomi spoke up.

"Tou-sama, where are we going?"

Fugaku just walked faster, forcing his children into a slow jog. "You'll see."

* * *

There were about a million things running through her head at the moment.

First off, Fugaku was hiding something from them. He seemed detached, like one of Sasori's puppets; there, but not really there at the same time. It had something to do with Tobi. That led to the rest of her thoughts. She had no idea what happened after he had taken him. In fact, she had no idea why she pursued him in the first place. If Fugaku wasn't holding her hand and leading her to her first training session at the moment, she would've yelled and screamed and pounded her head on the wall in frustration.

Seriously, what made her think that she could take on the future leader of the Akatsuki? Memories of confronting him with Kakashi and parts of the Konoha 11 found its way back to her today, while she was dreaming. Even if she didn't know who he was a few days ago, she should've taken in the fact that she was nowhere near taking on someone powerful enough to break in the Uchiha compound. And Konoha.

The spot where she was marked on her neck burned. It had taken her a few moments to figure it out, but there was, in fact, a seal there. And she wasn't about to let herself and Sasuke walk around with potential time bombs on them. She needed answers.

"Tou-sama," Sakura asked again, deciding to risk it. "What are the seals for?"

Fugaku stumbled, but before he could pull the three of them down, he steadied himself gracefully. And once he was upright, he stared at her. "You've noticed?"

Itachi had told them plenty of stories about the Three Sannin, specifically ones about Jiraiya. Those story-telling sessions will quickly turn into lectures as Sasuke and Sakura peppered their aniki with more and more questions. So it was no surprise that she would know a little something about seal work. The reasons formed in her head even as she made her response, just in case Fugaku became suspicious. "Yes, Tou-sama. It itches."

"Tou-sama, what is she talking about?" asked Sasuke.

Fugaku took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then, he spun on his heels and began walking once more, pulling his children along. "It is complicated, children. I can elaborate on it later, perhaps after the two of you have delved a little deeper into the studies of fuinjutsu. For now, all you have to know is that it'll be permanent but certainly not life-threatening."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She had expected a louder response, especially from Fugaku. Fuinjutsu wasn't something to trifle with.

Her musings were cut short once she noticed that they were in an unfamiliar hallway. She was pretty sure that after two years of running around the compound like madmen (getting a decent workout in the process), she and Sasuke had explored every inch of their home.

But she can't recall any place nearly as beautiful in the compound; not even the secluded koi pond with the moss-covered bench they stumbled upon a year ago by accident could compare. The hallway was regally massive, nearly as spacious as the great dining hall, and the walls were replaced by thinly screened doors, giving plenty of sunlight to the intricately grown bonsais lining their path. At the end of the hallway was an open deck with equally epic proportions facing the lake. Three black cushions were placed in a vague triangular shape in the middle of the platform. As they approached it, Sakura was greeted by the purifying scent of jasmine. The floral scent caressed her senses, and Sakura felt her stiff muscles relaxing instantly.

A gentle breeze flowed in, and Sakura smiled at the cool feeling it brought as she stepped onto the dais, following the two male members of her family. Her feet tingled as her soles kissed the cold marble tiles of the dais, stained a satiny red by the rising sun. Sakura gazed at the red sphere hovering above the waterline, spilling vibrant reds and oranges across the surface. She nudged Sasuke.

Leaning in towards his ear, she whispered. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

Sasuke didn't respond. In fact, he looked a bit upset. "Hai, Hitomi… but aren't ninjas supposed to run and around and fight each other and do cool jutsus? Like aniki does?"

Sakura fought the urge to snort, trying to appear as serious as possible when Sasuke fixed her with a small glare and a frown. She had almost forgotten how many stereotypes were associated with training shinobi. People tend to think of them as silent killing machines, programmed through years of strict physical exercise. Though that may be true, ninjas actually spend just as much time studying from scrolls and meditating, finding and refining their inner power to match their physical power. Sakura Haruno had been a good example of that.

She patted Sasuke on the back. "We can't do ninja things until Tou-sama says we can. He's probably going to talk to us now."

"Shh," Fugaku chided, and they immediately turned to him. "Sasuke, Hitomi. Today is July 25."

Sakura nodded—she had known that much already, after checking up upon herself. Sasuke wasn't so convinced, though. "But Tou-sama, it was the twenty-second before that weird man came…" Sasuke trailed off, as if suddenly realizing something.

"Yes, because the two of you have been a comatose state for three days since. Your birthday has already passed. And about that man, I want you two to forget about him…we have dealt with him already." _Lie_. "Now, I have something to say to each of you."

He shifted his eyes towards Sasuke. "Sasuke, as the second son of the clan head, you are expected to follow the footsteps of your brother, matching him step for step. Though it is up to you to decide how you rise through the ninja ranks, I want you to show as much effort and dedication your aniki has, both in and outside of training."

With those words, Fugaku drew out a small square packet, wrapped in layers of plain cerulean paper. "Once more, happy birthday, son." He then handed it to Sasuke, who accepted it eagerly with a loud "Thanks, otou-sama!" and began to demolish the wrapping paper.

Sakura smiled as the beige box inside revealed to hold several training outfits in dark colors, all made from the finest fishnets and cotton. Sasuke cheered at the sight of the Uchiha crests adorning each piece of clothing, and Sakura felt something inside her soar. Children in their clan were only allowed to wear the crest (which was custom sewn by their suppliers) once they learned how to do the Great Fireball Technique. It was a miracle that he'd been given the honor to wear the symbol before learning said jutsu or even entering the Academy, but then again, they _were _part of the main family.

Aside from those, Sasuke also received a pair of pajamas that were printed with tomatoes, and his first set of non-blunted kunai and shruiken. Smiling widely the whole time, Sasuke put each one neatly into two separate pouches from the bottom of the box and strapped them to his legs, struggling at first. The pouches were nearly as large as his calf, Sakura observed bemusedly. She wouldn't be surprised if her grinning brother fell on his face from the weight when he stood up.

"Good, Sasuke. Just don't try handling the weapons until you've been instructed. I don't want you bleeding to death." He deadpanned, and then turned to Sakura.

"Hitomi, four years and two days ago, you were born a ten seconds after Sasuke, a mere ten seconds his junior. I-"

"Ha, I'm older." Sasuke stuck his tongue out at her, and Sakura returned the favor.

"Children!" Fugaku said, exasperated. Sasuke turned his head away, pretending he hadn't done anything, causing Fugaku to frown at her. "As I was saying, Hitomi, keep in mind that I also have heavy expectations for you. Almost all female students at the Ninja Academy attend the Acadmey by choice—but you understand that the choice is not yours. Ten seconds younger or not, female or not, you are to shine as much as your brothers will. Happy birthday, little one."

A parcel identical to Sasuke's in size was given to her, except the wrapping paper was icing pink. She looked up and gave her father the sweetest smile possible, even going as far to add a few tears at the edge of her eyes. It worked. Fugaku's smile was now wide enough to show teeth. "Arigatou, Tou-sama!"

His previous words resonated within her as she tore it open, because, to be honest, he had basically been preaching them to her for her entire life. Though Mikoto spoiled her with mountains upon mountains of hair bows and clips and little dresses that were fit for a princess, and though Itachi had always treated her like a delicate little girl, her father had always expected her to act and speak like a boy. It was smart, actually. If one of the twins didn't turn out so successful, the other could always cover the failure's tracks. Sakura respected the political logic behind Fugaku's choice, but it seemed a little cruel.

Her gifts turned out to be identical to Sasuke's, except that there was also a lacey, mint colored Western-styled dress. It was cute enough, with the large bow set in the middle, but not nearly as functional as her other gifts.

Fugaku seemed satisfied. "Anyways, as you understand, your duties to both your clan and the village increase with each year you grow older. Perhaps one day, you will both be strong enough to stare into my eyes, and perhaps even your brother's, as equals. You still have a long way to go, however, but we start now."

Closing his eyes, their father continued. "Close your eyes and breathe, children."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at her father's instructions, but followed anyways. She had suspected that he was going to start off with meditation, but with two young children, the idea of sitting still for awhile probably won't stick. _Normal _children, that is. After a few moments, she simply gave in to her mind and focused on the sound of the lake's water rippling from the wind, the birdsong chattering around her, and the jasmine teasing at her nose. Her body shifted and moved itself along with the rhythm of nature around her so that she sat like a monk, her legs crossed and her hands rested on her knees.

"Now, both of you have heard of chakra, correct?" Eyes still closed, the two children nodded, though Sasuke was a little unsure of what to do, judging from sounds that he made as he swiveled his head around.

"It is a mixed form of physical energy, drawn from all cells of the body, and spiritual energy, developed by increasing your mental dimensions and strict meditation." Sakura answered automatically.

"Good, Hitomi. Also, your inner chakra system can be interpreted as almost anything—a well, a bubbling spring, or even a roaring lion. For the next two hours, I want the two of you to try to visualize your chakra."

She could hear Sasuke fumble around in confusion as Fugaku spoke, but he eventually settled down and matched his breathing pattern with hers, not wanting to be outdone by his younger sister. Sakura smirked to herself—if only he knew. The entire routine was unfamiliar to Sasuke; but to Sakura, it was almost second nature to her after several months of meditating from midnight until dawn, mostly to increase her chakra storage. After sixteen years of perfecting her skill, the least she needed right now was chakra control.

Sakura had always been acutely sensitive to chakra. It was the first thing the Academy instructors had noticed on the rather shy, bookish Sakura Haruno, the one quality besides her hair and brains that attracted decent attention. For her entire life, even up until today, her chakra has always been moldable, obeying her every wish and will. It was her tool, her most loyal weapon, like Naruto's wind-enchanced rasengan. There wasn't a specific shape to her chakra, per say. It was more like a versatile, shapeless form that drifted inside her. For the rest of the two hours, she stretched the blob to its max—it was a classic exercise that increased your chakra storages that Kakashi had taught her team years before (or was it later?). Pushing the thoughts that were likely to cause a space-time paradox away, she furrowed her eyebrows and concentrated. Having a mental hold on your chakra was harder than it sounded, especially with a new body to adjust to.

"Time's up." It barely felt like a minute before Fugaku suddenly said that, breaking her concentration. Startled, Sakura blinked open her eyes. Her chakra fell back into its shapeless bob, but she noticed with satisfaction that it was slightly larger than before, with fine strands of spiritual energy that looped off the edges. She was seated on the cushion facing towards the sun—it was now a meek yellow, hovering above the tree line. At some point whilst she was training, a little table had been placed in the middle of the trio, along with two trays of carefully prepared kaiseki** placed in front of her and Sasuke. Each of the twelve tiny delectable dishes looked mouthwatering. On cue, her stomach grumbled.

Fugaku chuckled as he watched his children eye the food like hungry wolves. "You may eat after you have narrated your findings to me." Sakura had no doubt that Fugaku had kept track of their progress for the past two hours with his Sharingan, but she was curious as to what Sasuke accomplished as well. He hadn't made a single sound during the entire time, and Sakura was beginning to truly appreciate the reason why Sasuke had been the top rookie graduate in her original lifetime. There weren't many four year olds that can sit still for that long.

Speaking of Sasuke, her twin didn't hesitate much at the prospect of food. "I…I didn't really find anything." There was a second of silence as he dipped his head to stare at the cold stone floor. "I mean, I don't really understand what we were looking for. I don't even think I have chakra. But I did kinda learn how to meditate." He brightened at this announcement, and puffed up at the prospect of redeeming his pride. "It's really easy. You just have to forget about yourself and kinda just feel everything."

Fugaku slowly nodded. "That's good. Normally, your progress will be considered prodigal, since you managed to accomplish a task that even most Academy Second Years find difficult. It requires strenuous amounts of physical and mental training to properly use chakra before the age of eleven. However…" he turned to Sakura.

"I'd like an explanation, Hitomi. You know what I mean."

Sakura took a deep breath. She'd rehearsed this moment too many times before, knowing that Fugaku will eventually find out about the second Itachi-type prodigy in his household. She decided to look humble for this one, humble and naïve, like a little kid. "Tou-san…I've always been able to sense my chakra. It's just been there, and I can….control it. When I close my eyes, I can see it, I can stretch it, I can poke it and I can do almost anything with it. And I've been able to for as long as I can remember."

She held a bated breath as Fugaku seemed to stare past her, his gaze piercing.

Slowly, a look that she can only classify as jovial rejoice spread across her father's face.

"Well, then, I suppose my little geniuses would like some breakfast, wouldn't they?" he said softly, not taking his eyes off of her. "We're moving on to something a little more challenging after this."

Sakura felt a proverbial weight lift off of shoulders as she settled into her meal, picking up a piece of raw salmon wrapped in a coat of rice and seaweed and stuffing it into her mouth. Fugaku had taken to this new development much better than she had expected. She hadn't realized how nervous she had been until now.

_But then again, _she mused, simultaneously devouring her bowl of miso soup and steamed rice, _talent is a good thing._

She felt much better as she finished her meal, washing it down with a cup of warm barley tea, barely noticing the slightly jealous looks Sasuke was shooting at her.

When they finished, a pair of servants scurried in and quickly disassembled the makeshift table, whisking the tableware away, leaving behind a large, slightly dusty trunk draped with a piece of navy silk.

Fugaku waited until the servants had disappeared down the hallway before pulling the trunk closer to him, running a hand over the silk to brush away some dust before removing it. As the soft material slid away, Sakura was granted with the view of a carved surface laden with details depicting what seemed like war scenes, and stifled a gasp. Her father unclasped the latches and the trunk swung open, revealing three gorgeously carved _kotos***._

As Fugaku carefully set down a koto in front of her, Sakura couldn't help but to blurt. "Why are we playing an instrument?"

"Yeah, why?" Sasuke added, seeming just as perplexed as she was.

Fugaku took out a pouch and slid on three ivory picks onto his fingers, cracked his knuckles, rotating his wrists as if warming up, his bones popping with each movement. Fugaku then tossed two other pouches to the two kids, both containing three picks. Taking this as a silent cue, Sakura followed Fugaku's example, mimicking his actions, watching Sasuke do the same out of the corner of her eyes. "I originally intended for the two of you to begin on this at least two months into your training, after reaching the point where you can successfully delve deeper into your mental realms. But…"

Suddenly their father seemed to transform, his uptight and stiff manner lifting entirely as he lovingly lifted the last koto from the trunk.

The instrument was set ritually in front of her father, and Sakura gaped openly at it. She'd seen a couple of kotos in her past lifetime from all the various missions she'd went on, but the paulownia wood adorned with tortoiseshell pieces and jade was just a little too much. It must've cost a fortune, even for a clan like her's.

"You see, Hitomi, Sasuke—these kotos have strings manufactured from the finest chakra steel." Fugaku said, in a light voice that teemed with excitement.

_Chakra steel… _Sakura had a faint suspicion as to what it was for, but she wasn't about to voice it yet.

To accompany his enthusiasm, lithe fingers that belonged only to seasoned jonins and musicians rushed forth and expertly plucked at the strings, producing a breezy, happy sound. Sakura had a hard time believing that the man sitting in front of her and coaxing such beautiful music out of such a delicate instrument was Fugaku. Since when was her father a marvelous musician?

"Woah." Sasuke breathed quietly next to her.

Sakura agreed.

But once the tips of her father's fingers began to glow a rich, warm, red, Sakura was alarmed.

"You see," Fugaku said, eyes closed, still lost in the ecstasy of music. "These strings are designed to pull out your chakra. Then, they refine it to a point where it exposes your elemental affinity, and at the same time, it helps you master it. It is one of the most effective, albeit expensive techniques known. However, remember that this also prepares your finger dexterity for kunai and shruiken, as well as hand seals."

The melody suddenly hit a large crescendo, the tempo speeding up a notch, becoming more and more frantic as her father's fingers danced quicker and quicker on the tightly strung steel—and without warning, the whole instrument burst up into flame, as if in a frenzy to satisfy its master's demanding fingers.

"Holy sh—" Sakura managed to clasp her hands over her mouth in time before the dirty word could roll out, while Sasuke yelled on shamelessly at the sight.

Her father was unharmed, though. On the contrary, the flames only fed his virtuosity, to the point where his fingers were a mere blur and the strings were constantly buzzing, making it appear as if there were really two people that were plucking. Slowly, the flames grew into a deeper blue color, and some of it even climbed up and down her father's arms in time with the music. Fugaku's eyes were fully shut, his hands relying on muscle memory as he swayed and bobbed to the music. Accompanied by the jasmine, the soft wind, and the rising sun, it was truly a sight to behold.

The flames slowly faded away as Fugaku drew his song to a close, ending the piece with a low note. Once he was finished, his eyes opened and revealed that his Sharingan were activated.

"Your first lesson in the art of the chakra steel koto will be with me today. However, from tomorrow on, a tutor will be invited to instruct you. Now, sit with your knees facing at a 45 degree angle to your instrument, and spread them apart as far as your waist—well done. Next, place your hands like so upon the third and further strings, and make sure to curve them like this—that's right, Sasuke. Almost, Hitomi. Your index fingers should be straddling the center—correct. "

Sakura had never been much of a musician, and her fingers weren't nearly as nimble as they used to be. Three long hours later, after perfecting her hand and arm positions under Fugaku's strict instructions, Sakura managed to successfully learn how to play five different nursery rhymes and seven different scales…on one string. She swore at one point her fingers grew warm, and there was a tiny spout of fame on her fingernail. But that wasn't nearly enough.

Fugaku, being the pushy father he was, handed them each four large books with practice melodies right after congratulating them. Homework, he said. Having learnt their basic kanji and katakana from a private tutor a year ago, they were expected to read off of the books, play, practice in the mornings and evening, and know all the songs by heart by the third week.

Sasuke wailed in despair in response, and Sakura buried her forehead into her palm.

* * *

After a quick snack break, Fugaku left them to their own devices on the dais, telling them that either Shisui or another older Uchiha would be around to get them started on their physical training.

Sakura resumed practicing her koto immediately, eager to experiment with her newfound hobby.

Sasuke had settled next to her and watched her play for almost ten minutes before sighing, blowing a bang out of his eye. "Ne, Hitomi-chan. Why you are so much better than me at everything right now?"

"It's _are _you, not you are, Sasuke." Sakura replied, without pausing her progress on the D pentatonic scale.

Her twin sighed again, this time more dramatically. "'Xactly. You always tell me what I do wrong. Like when we did the koto thing. And the meditation thing. And reading."

Sakura stopped, lifting her hands up from the strings. She felt something inside clench—Sasuke…Sasuke was jealous of her? In the past, it had always been her staring after him enviously for the looks she never had, and the power she that she will never obtain. Now, for the first time ever, he was lusting after a quality _she _possessed. Blinking, she slowly turned to him, noting how his head was bent down and facing slightly away from her, despite how close he was to her.

From the body motion alone, she could tell that Sasuke was hurt. And jealous. But hurt that his baby sister was ahead of him for the most part.

"Sasuke-kun-" she started.

"Hey, midgets!" A cheerful voice that belonged to the one and only Shisui Uchiha chirped, and before Sakura could look and up smile at her second cousin's approaching form, he shunshined in front of the twins.

Bending over them and beaming a blinding grin that reminded her suspiciously of Gai, Shisui winked at the two. "Good morning, chirps."

Proving once and for all at how quickly children forget things, Sasuke returned the smile, jumping up at the same time. "Shisui-nii!" He cheered, reaching forward to give the teen's leg a hug.

Sakura giggled and decided to join her twin, glomping onto her cousin's other leg.

Shisui patted them each affectionately on the head, laughing at their limb-molesting antics. "Well, guess what? Since my lunch break lasts two hours today, we can use that time to get you to do some nice warm up laps and pushups. And we start…now!" Reaching down, he plucked the two pests from his loose black training pants and tossed both of them out of shaded the dais and onto the ground- a ten foot drop.

Unprepared for the fall, Sasuke screamed, but Sakura had adjusted herself milliseconds after sensing Shisui tensing his arm muscles. As they were both launched into the air, she expertly grasped onto Sasuke and grabbed him by the back of his waist and behind his knees, forcing him to copy her motions as she tucked into a crouch and landed not too formlessly on her feet, sending a shockwave of impact though both of their legs.

_Not bad, _she thought, a grin forming on her face as she panted from the adrenaline. _Guess I still have some reflexes after all._

Shisui whistled. "Nice, Hitomi!" The two turned back to look at him just in time to see him perform a triple front flip, landing a mere inch away from them.

"Show off!" Sakura shouted, waving a tiny fist.

Shisui bopped her playfully on the head, a mere nudge of a fist. "Says the four year old that had just executed a perfect front flip, with two people nonetheless. Where did you learn that, anyways?"

Just as she was about to answer, Sasuke wriggled forcefully out of her hold, tearing himself away from her arms. He stumbled a little, but once he was standing, he directed an accusing finger at her.

"Imouto! You must teach me how to do that! I'm not letting you rescue me again!"

Sakura stared at the finger pointed at her, and then back at her brother's determined eyes. "I will."

Unbeknownst to the siblings, Shisui was watching their banter with a knowing expression. The teen had seen this play out before, back when he and Itachi were children.

He let out a sudden chuckle, startling the two children. "Before you can do that, Sasuke-kun, I think we should start off with the basics." A sadistic smirk found its way to his expression. "Forty laps around the compound, go!"

* * *

…I can't help it. I ADORE writing training scenes :D

But yeah, tell me if that was boring…it probably was.

You know, when I was editing to this, I couldn't help but to think a little. What kind of picture comes to mind when you think of Hitomi/Sakura? How does she look like? What's the expression on her face? How does she move, act, feel, think? Actually….that's basically what I'm writing. I'm a visual learner, so whenever I read things, my brain automatically translates the words into a moving picture. But no one thinks or processes things the same way, so…mind telling me what your impression on Hitomi is?

That was hopelessly long.

Anyways, hoped you liked it, mwah :)

*I'm assuming at this point in the series, people still know him as Madara.

**A fancy, traditional Japanese meal that can consist of multiple small dishes and plates that are carefully arranged and prepared. Wikipedia is your friend on this one.

***A traditional Japanese instrument. Just search it up online. It's a long piece of curved wood with 13 strings and 13 adjustable bridges, and it sounds beautiful.


	7. Old Bonds

**Merci Beaucoup à****Lady Syndra, The Keeper of Worlds, deathgeonous, bbarbie325, anonymous, and all of those who reviewed the last chapter. You guys are awesome. Special thanks to Callaech Tiger Eye**

**I don't know if this counts as action…probs not. Sorry, but I hope Neji helps :D I'M SO SORRY NARUTO ISN'T IN THIS CHAPTER. But I promise that he'll come soon...and he's about to have a HUGE role in the story, as expected.**

**Also, I'm pretty sure chapter 5 still makes no sense at all. I'll try to fix it up a little, and Kabuto and Orochimaru and Tobi and the Watcher will all eventually come together.**

**On another note..**

**OMG**

**NO**

**NEJI**

**WHY**

…**Kishimoto is cruel. Spoiler to the latest chapter…he is no longer part of the living.**

* * *

Grimacing, Sakura hovered a hand over the deep gash on her right forearm, making sure that Sasuke couldn't see the green chakra humming beneath her cupped palm as she slowly knitted the flesh together. The angry red wound ran from the top of her wrist and extended to her elbow, a gift from the kunai Sasuke had thrown moments ago. It was the third such injury from him this week.

A few feet away, Sasuke stood with a hand behind his head sheepishly, the other one loosely fingering another kunai. Sakura eyed the glinting weapon warily, tensing her muscles to dodge if he accidentally let it fly off again.

She could barely believe it was already late October.

Four months of rigid training had gone by fast, and the twins have settled into a steady and tiring schedule. Every day they'd rise before the Sun, dine sleepily with Mikoto, Fugaku and Itachi, downing bowls of steaming miso soup while their mother fussed over them. Itachi would then give both of them a poke on the forehead before departing for the day, accompanied by Fugaku, who only voices his goodbyes with a wave. Mikoto, whose status as a jounin was now restored, would leave shortly after making bentos for her children. She knew that they can always opt for mooching fresh food from other Uchiha women or ordering takeout from any restaurant by simply billing it to the Uchiha Police Force.

They usually took the bentos anyways.

Then, after brushing their teeth and showering they'd head out to the dais for some meditation, followed by a two hour koto lesson with some nameless musician hired from a neighboring village. She was getting rather skilled at playing the instrument—not as good as Fugaku though.

After that, they'd take a break and wander around the compound for a little bit, side by side. Sometimes, Sakura would pick up a scroll or a book to read in a secluded place, and Sasuke would let her have her peace to go play with some other Uchiha boys.

At around noon, they'd start their endurance training—which was forty laps around the compound, forty sets of five pushups, and countless other sets of forty exercises. Shisui lovingly referred to the routine as the Torture Workout.

"These relaxing little sessions save you a time later on," her had cousin said with a large smile. "Then, you can focus on higher level physical training once you enter the Academy."

Speaking of the Academy, Sakura was sure that if she were to race against her former genin self, she'd give her a run for her freaking money. Pink-haired, lovestruck little Sakura Haruno sure couldn't run a mile in under seven minutes. _I was so stupid back then_, she thought.

Finally, they'd end their day with her favorite; shuriken and kunai throwing. It takes the twins serious dignity to keep themselves from crawling to the training posts after the "relaxing little sessions"; but once they managed to do that, the real fun began.

Apparently, that fun included throwing kunai in your sister's direction.

"Sorry, Hitomi-chan." Sasuke bit his lip as she hissed in pain. His kunai twirled feverishly on his finger. "I don't mean to hurt you..I'm really sorry and I hope you don't hate me and it's just that sometimes I just get too excited and the kunai-"

Sakura cut him off before he could write a novel. "Like I said, it's fine."

Sasuke looked away again and Sakura frowned, brushing a lock of dark russet hair behind her ear. She winced again as she finished healing her arm, leaving only a faint pink line behind. Compared to some of the other injuries she received (ahem Sasori), this was next to nothing._  
_

Then, making sure that Sasuke can see her, she applied some of the healing salve she retrieved from her hip pouch, making it look as if the salve had worked its magic instead of her medical chakra. She can afford to be careless about her true skills around her twin, who was barely old enough to detect chakra anyways.

Brushing the dirt off her pleated blue training skirt and black sleeveless top, Sakura stood, the joints in her legs popping.

Sasuke immediately rushed to her side, stammering out apologies once more and helping her dust off.

Sakura rolled her eyes and gently pushed him away. "I'm in one piece, Sasuke. Let's get back to practice."

Slipping her hand inside her way-to-big shuriken pouch strapped securely to her thigh and taking out a single throwing star, she made her way to her board, gesturing for Sasuke to do so as well.

She sent him a small smirk before expertly stepping into a counterstrike position, her non-dominant arm raised up to protect her chest the way Fugaku had taught her. Then she flicked the throwing star. It was a mere blur of silver, cutting through the air before it hit the Bull's eye.

"I can do that too," Sasuke muttered as he watched, thinking that Hitomi couldn't hear him.

Her hand darted to the pouch strapped to her other leg and four kunai quickly followed, forming a perfect diamond around the shuriken.

Her past reflexes and accuracy, as she was delighted to find out, seemed to have stuck with her. Even Fugaku was impressed by her performance. _Little genius, _he would praise her, much to Sasuke's dismay.

"I bet you can do that too," she challenged, grinning at Sasuke's disbelief. "Your turn."

Looking scandalized, Sasuke gave her a little "hmmph". He followed in suit and threw an array of kunai that formed a wobbly X across the target.

A smug look on his face, Sasuke grinned at her. "Your turn," he mimicked, making his voice high and shrilly.

Their little game went on and on until they realized how hungry they were, the clink of metal on metal interrupted by growling stomachs. It was well past three in the afternoon at this point, and the afternoon sun was beating relentlessly down on their heads.

They turned to look at each other.

"Beat you to the shower." Sasuke said, voicing both of their thoughts. It was no longer a question. It has been the same for the past months.

Sakura smirked at him. "You're on." She held up three fingers, silently voicing out the numbers as she counted down.

Once her index finger curled to her palm, they both dashed off.

None of them noticed their aniki unmasking his chakra. Itachi stepped out from the trees and examined his siblings' destroyed targets with a wan smile.

"You were right, Tou-sama." Itachi murmured, pulling out three embedded kunai on Hitomi's target. "They will soon be competing with me…"

* * *

Humming, Sakura stepped out of the large white tub in her bathroom. She dried her feet with three wipes on the fluffed black rug.

"Are you done yet, Hitomi-chan?" She could smell the irritation in the muffled vice. Sakura stifled a laugh; she had beaten Sasuke to the bathroom. It was her right to take a twenty minute shower.

"One second!" She called. Correction; she was using _their _bathroom. The entire wing belonged to her and Sasuke.

Grabbing a towel, she quickly dried herself off. She pattered over to the mirror and reached over to wipe off a bit of the moisture off the glass so she could see herself as she brushed her damp crimson-tinted black hair. The girl looking back at her barely resembled Sakura Haruno, save the green pupil of her left eye.

She snorted when she realized that her freakishly thick spread of eyelashes had droplets of water dangling off their edges, weighing her eyelids down. Blinking rapidly, she watched with amusement as the tear-sized droplets dripped from her lashes and rolled down her cheeks. _Bless Mikoto for her genes_, she thought. She was lucky to have her mother's features.

She sucked in one last breath of vanilla-scented steam before haphazardly throwing on her underwear and a soft, flowing white dress. Absentmindedly fingering the soft crepe material, Sakura hurriedly exited.

Sasuke, who was sprawled out on the wooden floor in the hall, sprung up at the sight of her. "Finally!" he exclaimed. He was about to bowl past her before he noticed her choice of clothing.

"Why are you wearing that for training?" Sasuke cocked his head, eying her dress with suspicion.

"Because, Sasuke, we aren't going to train after you shower." Sakura intoned, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

In truth, she had been getting more than a little restless lately, despite her eagerness towards the new training. It had been almost four years since she'd last seen Naruto, or any of the people that had truly mattered in her past life—and almost three weeks since she'd last been out of the compound.

It was time to start searching for her ex-team mate.

She had no intention of ignoring him this time around.

"I want ramen," _From Ichiraku's_, she added mentally. "With pork filet."

Sasuke didn't look too thrilled with the idea. "But Mikoto made us pickled plum today, Hitomi…And you love Mikoto-kaa-san's pickled plums!"

"Mom wouldn't mind us going. We can take some of our allowance." She said.

Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow, arching it in a way that was a carbon copy of Itachi's when he was warning them. Sakura glared at him with envy. It seemed that despite her aptitude, there were some things only a true Uchiha could learn.

"I _really _want ramen. And no one will be home until six. Mom's on a B-rank mission today, Dad has a meeting, and Shisui is on a border check with aniki." Sakura reasoned, standing steadfastly in front of the bathroom entrance.

Sasuke thought for a moment before he shrugged shrugged, realizing that she wasn't going to let him in before he agreed.

"Fine," He grunted. "Just let me shower. I want udon, though."

* * *

With each passing dango stand and laughing civilian, Sakura was reminded of how much she missed the old Konoha. Nothing had looked the same after Orochimaru attacked, followed by Pain, who'd flattened the entire village. It had been a lot more lively and colorful before that. The Sannin and the Rinnegan user had done more than deface Konoha's heritage by wiping out over half of the buildings; they had broken its spirit. Something inside her twisted and churned at the thought of the future wreckage.

But after three sticks of delicious mitarashi dango offered to her by a grinning vendor, she realized that there was still hope, and plenty of time for her to make sure that hope remains. Giddy with an onslaught of positive emotions, Sakura bade good bye to the vendor, silently slipping a generous tip into the woman's apron pocket. She grabbed her burping twin, ignoring Sasuke's whining and tugged him along towards the direction of Ichiraku's.

She even thought she caught a glimpse of a young Naruto, still slightly chubby from baby fat and almost unrecognizable without his trademark orange suit, weaving in and out of the crowd ahead of them.

It was almost too good to be true, she thought over the din of shoppers.

_Wait_. Sakura nearly stumbled over when she realized that it was, in fact Naruto. She resisted the urge to shout his name. Pulse racing, Sakura sped up her pace, determined to catch up.

Suddenly, Sasuke gasped next to her. "Hitomi! Look at that weapons shop!" he pulled on her sleeve, willing her to slow down. "And is that a _tanto_?"

Sakura nodded, not really hearing him. She was too focused on keeping an eye on the head of blond spikes. _Naruto…Naruto…_

But just as she was close enough to tap her ex-team mate on shoulder, Sasuke gripped her by the arm and tugged backwards, causing her to stumble and lose sight of Naruto.

_Shit! _

"I want to go to the weapon's shop, Hitomi!" Sasuke wailed, and Sakura panicked at the sight. Her brother's large black eyes were glistening, on the verge of tears. A small crowd of people had already stopped and formed a loose ring around them, whispering.

"Those are the Uchiha twins, right?"

"Mama says they're forced to stay home and train twelve hours a day…"

"My aniki knew their aniki when they went to the Academy together—"

"She looks like she has red hair!"

"What are they doing here? Don't they all travel in groups?"

"They're so cute…"

"Is she making him cry?"

Thinking quick, Sakura let a frown of concern pull at her lips, and scooped Sasuke into a hug. "How about you go to the weapons shop, Sasuke? I wanna go see the toy shop over there." She said conversationally. Sasuke's cries faded into surprised hiccups.

He was about to say something when she saw Naruto walking further away. Alarmed, she pushed Sasuke towards the weapons shop.

"I'll come back to you later!" She told him quickly and dashed through the crowd after Naruto.

Then, the chase began.

Sakura never knew that Naruto was so good at moving through large masses of people unnoticed. It didn't fit his rather brash personality…but then again, said personality was probably acquired later on while he was trying to win her affections. And considering his status as a jinchuuriki, stealth was necessary for survival. She knew how apprehensive shinobi villages can get when it comes to the delicate subject of bijuu vessels.

But _dammit, _how was _four year old Naruto _faster than her?It was almost as if Naruto _knew _she was following him. She'd catch a glimpse of him, and he'd disappear just as she confirmed his position. After a minute of leading her to desperately dodging shopping bags and hawkers wheeling in their wares for the evening market, Naruto would pause again, only to vanish a moment later.

"Agh!" Sakura haphazardly veered away from a throng of running children, only to jump back a second later trying to avoid a couple of gossiping women. Even with her immensely gifted chakra sense, tracking him here was impossible. There were way too many people, she was too short, and Naruto has yet to develop his incredible chakra pool.

She sighed. The shinobi running on the roof were probably laughing at her. She wasn't even competent enough to—

Sakura smacked herself on the head for the delayed reaction. Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that earlier?

Within seconds, Sakura found an alley wedged between two towering brick buildings. Delighted, she channeled a steady stream of chakra to the bottom of her feet and felt the contents of her stomach flip and flop as she worked her way up the side of the roof.

And never once, not even as she tumbled over the ledge of the roof top, did she expect to stumble into _him_.

* * *

**Note: I was listening to Reflection from the Mulan movie when I was writing this. And one of my close friends basically left me today. It struck a large blow to me because I never realized how much our friendship meant to me until said friend sorta left.**

**Yeah. And the new development with Neji… it set me thinking about this. I can't imagine how it was like for him. **

**Poor Neji.**

**Think of this as a tribute to him.**

* * *

Neji Hyuga was a peculiar child. Why?

It wasn't the milky white _pupil-less_ eyes that induced fear in most of the non-shinobi population. It weren't his rather feminine features, either. And he knew for sure that he wasn't the only five year old in Konoha that took training seriously. Most clan-born children started their tuition in the ninja arts early.

The curse mark was out of the question. It was on the brows of every single one of the children in his clan except for…_her_. He sneered. She was weak, and she no longer matters in his life. It was hard to wrap his mind around the fact that he thought she was _cute _a year ago.

He was peculiar because he was the only person younger than an average genin to frequent the rooftops of Konohagakure.

Today was no different. For some reason, watching people come and go beneath him at the end of a long day of training was strangely relaxing. He often chose the busiest street corner in the civilian sections, where no one would notice him, where there were the most people.

He vaguely noticed a bit of a commotion going on a block or two down the street, and saw a small ring of people forming around what seemed like two young children. It died down shortly after gaining his Byakugan's attention, and Neji dismissed it as one of the daily occurrences in the afternoon traffic. He let out a nearly inaudible sigh, remembering why he was here the first place.

No matter rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog, or war, Neji would always come to the rooftops for comfort. Here, none will regard and criticize him other than the endless blue sky. Here, he can escape the empty eyes of his clan for a few moments. Here, he can find shelter from his past.

And here, only here, can he pretend that Father was still next to him, his strong arms still wrapped around his shoulders, still pointing out the little things below on the streets, still teaching him the constellations, still trying to make him laugh and giggle.

Neji felt his eyes grow wet, and the five year old sniffled, wiping a rounded palm at the edges of his eye. Pain resurfaced inside of him, erupting like thick, viscous lava that burned and chewed its way through him.

"Father…" he whispered.

Father had been his world. Father had been his guiding star, his Polaris, his stars, his Sun, his Moon, his _everything_. Father raised him and taught him how to read and how to meditate and how to float tiny flower petals on ponds and why there are so many stars in the sky and the star's names and why his mother wasn't there to raise him, among countless other things.

Molding chakra to the soles of his feet to walk up the rooftops was probably the best thing his father taught him before he…before he…

"Agh!" Though it had been well over a year ago, Neji could still feel the memory breaking his heart to little pieces.

Soon, he was sobbing into his hands, sounding utterly loss and broken.

Why did he have to be taken away, by enemy nin no less? Why was the branch family treated like trash, like the disgustingly fancy rugs that the main branch wiped their feet on? What did his father do to deserve _that _sort of fate? What did he do to die that way, his destiny so warped and twisted?

He ignored how drops of his tears were dripping down from his perch on the ledge and onto the people below, and he ignored the fact that these cursed eyes of his could see everything, even as he was trying to block the scenes around him out.

The mark on his forehead throbbed numbly, and it only served to heighten his distress, his cries increasing in volume.

Not once since the Hyuga incident has Neji been able to come and find his peace of mind amongst the sky without breaking down like this.

* * *

The first thing Sakura did when she heard the quiet sobbing was stop dead in her tracks.

Halfway across the massive roof from where she was, on the border that wrapped all the way around the expansive dimensions of the building, sat none other than _the _Neji Hyuga.

Sure, his long hair (so silky that Sakura had a hard time thinking of him as a boyfor awhile) only brushed his shoulder blades, and he was much smaller and less bulky, and, well, generally less intimidating. She could say the same about herself, though.

She surveyed the rest of him. Gone was his monk-like outfit that accompanied him everywhere he went after he became a Chunnin, and gone was the Konoha headband. In place, she could only see a plain set of white training robes and a black bandana that pushed his hair back from his face, probably hiding that ugly seal.

She had never been close to him in her past life, even though she'd cried at his funeral. It took place on the battlefield, in the middle of clashing jutsus, when Naruto asked a few Iwa nin to safely put his body down a few hundred meters in the Earth.

He was one of the first to go in the Fourth Shinobi War.

She remembered how much the death of his father had affected him; it was only until his battle with Naruto at the Chuunin exams did he change.

And seeing him now, at his breaking point, she felt something inside her wither.

Shuddering, Sakura pondered what to do—should she comfort Neji, who was more or less a stranger right now and probably still freshly pained by the death of his father—or pursue Naruto, who became the most important person in her life and only a few hundred meters away?

Years later, she still wondered why she chose the first.

Maybe it was the heartbreak in his choked sobbing, which reminded her of Sasuke when he was jealous and frustrated, that induced her to walk over to the grieving boy and set a tiny hand on his shoulder.

This right here was a lifetime opportunity; one that can change Neji's life.

She felt Neji tense under her hand, and his cries were suppressed, transforming into choked hiccups.

Ignoring that, she spoke softly. "Are you alright?"

* * *

Neji thought that he was the only one who knew the rooftops around this area.

Even the shinobi who traversed through town via the hidden routes above were aware of him and his…delicate situation, and they tend to leave him alone, not wanting to disturb his little therapy sessions.

So how dare this…girl disturb his peace?

"Are you alright?"

Ignoring the obscene amount of salty tears that he was cupping in his palms, he turned to glare at her.

And when his eyes met hers, it took all the willpower he had not to refrain from gasping.

The first thing he noticed was that her eyes were…different colors. Though her right iris was charcoal black, her left eye held one single green orb. Those eyes stared pensively back at him, and Neji felt slightly uncomfortable, as if the girl was attempting to probe his mind.

Moving away from her calculating eyes, he quickly took note of her facial features, especially the slightly large forehead and her heart-shaped face. _Observe your enemies_, Father had always said. The thought of him made his heart twinge, and Neji forced himself to distract his mind from such thoughts, choosing to observe her clothing.

He was expecting a clan symbol stitched onto a set of expensive training clothes, but what he got was a white dress fitted on an individual a year younger than him. At least there weren't any weapon pouches on her. He should be safe enough.

"What are you doing here?" Neji couldn't help but to deadpan, hating the way his voice croaked and how he sniffled after the question.

The girl didn't say anything. Neji watched warily as she climbed onto the ledge and sat next to him, dangling her legs over the brick edge. She was close—a little bit too close, but he didn't want to chance moving away from her.

"You were crying, Hyuga-san." Caught off guard by her sudden address, Neji cringed at the name.

"I'd prefer you use Neji." He still had manners, despite how queasy she made him feel.

"Neji-san, then." The girl replied, unfazed. "Like I said before, you were crying."

Neji fell silent. She sounded way too formal for someone younger than him, he decided as he bit his lip. The girl looked expectantly at him.

"I…" he took a deep breath. To speak or not to speak?

The girl was still waiting for an answer.

In the end, he gave up under the scrutinizing gaze. "My father," he took a deep breath. "I was crying for my father. He died last year."

Most five and four-year olds didn't understand the concept of death. And it was even less likely for two toddlers to talk about it; but here they were, discussing the most tragic thing in Neji's life as if they were exchanging cake recipes.

"Ah," the girl said, and Neji could, to his disbelief, hear the melancholy tone in that one syllable.

There were no "sorry's" or any of those useless condolences. There was only that noncommittal "Ah,". A harsh gust of wind sped past them, whipping their hair around them.

Out of the blue, the girl wrapped a loose arm around his shoulders, in almost the same exact way _Father _did.

Neji froze, his heartbeat speeding up as the adrenaline pulsed to the erratic rhythm.

"Neji-san, I understand your frustration. The world can make some harsh decisions…many of them are cruel. Many of them are unfair."

"Then tell me why it had to be my Father!" Neji suddenly snapped, near tears again. She was jaded, jaded enough to sound so much like his father that it hurt to listen to her talk. "Why can't it be someone else's? Like, like that _Hinata's? _ That Hiashi bastard was supposed to die anyways!"

She didn't even question his choice of vocabulary when she answered, instead tightening her hold on him. Neji hissed, trying to toss her arm off of him.

"No, Neji-san. Please stop acting like this…you are only showing the world what it wants to see. You have to stop, and make it realize that you are strong enough to make it through this ordeal."

"I've tried!" Neji shot back hotly. "And I still am…but does it matter? Father won't be coming back, even if I keep on trying."

"You remind me of someone I once knew, Neji-san. He'd asked a similar question before—in fact, his whole existence fixated on correcting the mistakes in his past. But the past isn't meant to be altered. If you try to, you will only find yourself running into a proverbial wall. Just let time take its course, and you will find tranquility."

Neji whimpered pathetically again, his anger completely gone. "I don't understand," he said weakly. "I really don't."

* * *

**(Author Note: keep in mind that Sakura's real age is somewhere over twenty: 16 years of memories plus four more years as Hitomi. Neji is a five year old kid. There is a large difference in emotional maturity here.)**

* * *

She stroked his shoulder soothingly. "It'll take time, but one day you'll see that what doesn't kill you only serves to strengthen you. Use this as a chance to prove to the world that you are firm enough to withstand its forces."

Neji furrowed his brow, grasping for the meaning behind her words. "Do you mean I should stop caring?" He said sullenly, ignoring another bought of harsh autumn wind.

"No." she replied rapidly. "What I'm trying to articulate is that there is a fine line between caring and letting the world crush your spirit and turn you into a lifeless machine of vengeance."

Neji gave up after hearing that, and simply slumped forward, allowing her arm to support his weight. Luckily, he was used to hearing his Father speak in riddles, so he didn't have a hard time deciphering her words. But they still confused him. Sure, she was logical, and what she said made sense. What was he supposed to do, then? Go and tell Hiashi that he hated him? Find the real force behind everything that was happening to him?

They sat like that for a few minutes, Neji thinking and the girl patting his shoulder, before Neji realized that he didn't even know her name.

Thirty minutes had gone by before Sakura decided that she should leave. Knowing his attention span, Sasuke would've abandoned the weapons shop already. He was probably running through the streets and crying right now, and the Sun was dipping dangerously low.

Clearing her throat, Sakura retracted her arm away from his shoulder, instantly missing the warmth. Slowly, she stood up, and smoothed her slightly crinkled dress, thanking the stars she'd chosen an ankle-length dress today. It would've been awkward if she'd flashed Neji.

She gave herself a moment to let her chakra trickle down to her feet, and was about to take a careful step down when Neji clamped his hand around her wrist.

"What's your name?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder, meeting the pearly white eyes. In a different time and place, this would've been ironic. Think—_the _Hguya prodigy, asking for her name!

"Hitomi," she answered, smiling. "Hitomi Uchiha. Come to the compound sometime. I'll give the guards a heads up. Just tell them you know me."

Neji's eyes widened to the size of saucers, emphasizing his slightly chubby cheeks.

She laughed as she sprinted down the side of the building, and jumped off the side of the building. Brushing off the incredulous looks she was receiving from a few pedestrians, she dived back into the crowd. With the help of her chakra sense, she soon found a familiar head of fluffy spikes.

"Sasuke!" she shouted, waving her arm. "Let's go get our ramen!"

* * *

**Um…read and review, I guess. :3**

**love all of ya :)**


End file.
